Costly “small mistake” locks in P19 start for Doohan

A “small mistake” proved costly for Jack Doohan during Qualifying in Suzuka, leaving the Australian banking on wet weather to salvage something from a back-row start at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Saturday in Suzuka was always destined to be a difficult task for the 22-year-old rookie, with the final hour of practice extremely vital after Doohan missed both Free Practices on Friday, however, it was a task the Australian was raring to take on.

Just 90 minutes before the start of FP3, work was still ongoing on Doohan’s wounded A252 as the team had opted to repair the damaged chassis as opposed to replacing it with a new one.

When the session started, it was a messy first run for many drivers as they navigated the new tailwind at Degner 2, with Doohan the first to kick up gravel prior to the Red Flag.

When the session restarted, the Australian didn’t quite maximise the remaining 45 minutes, lapping 1.5 seconds off the pace in P15 after putting the soft compound through its paces.

Doohan remained in the pitlane as his teammate continued to tour the Suzuka International Circuit, rewarding Pierre Gasly with a comfortable top-ten time.

Rejoining FP3 with just under 15 minutes remaining, the Australian improved to P13, however, still 1.2 seconds behind his teammate.

Unable to complete a practice start on the grid due to a late Red Flag, Doohan prematurely ended the session with the 14th fastest time. 

“Thanks to the team for their hard work overnight to get the car ready for today,” Doohan said. 

“It was a big effort so for that I’m very appreciative. 

“Going into Free Practice 3, we were a bit on the backfoot from yesterday, which meant we needed to make big steps each time we went out on track. 

“The car felt reasonably good but we’re still struggling a bit with stability, which is something we need to analyse.”

When it came down to the all-important qualifying session to set the grid for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, escaping the Q1 clutches was not guaranteed.

Tasked with weaving his way through the out-lap traffic, Doohan was one of the first drivers to launch during Q1. 

He set an initial time of 1:29.803s, a lap that ultimately left him at the very bottom of the order once the entire grid had followed suit. 

The Australian set a personal best sector to start his final lap, safely clearing the scene of his brutal FP2 crash before failing to further improve.

“In Q1, I think the potential maybe of Q2 was on the cards, which would have been, to be honest, a great effort,” Doohan said.

“I had to just take, obviously, big steps forward, and on my final lap, I just asked a bit too much into Turn 14. 

“I was going to run wide, so I had to get out of it — if I didn’t do that, I’d still be here speaking with you now, but I had to give it a go. 

“And unfortunately, I would have liked to have done that over FP.”

Dissecting the issue, Doohan said he made “a small mistake” on the exit of Spoon Curve when the car understeered and forced the Australian to “get out the throttle”, ultimately costing him time on the straight.

As a result, Doohan couldn’t boost himself beyond the bottom five, leaving himself in a difficult position for Sunday’s potentially wet race as he looks to launch from P19.

“You know, I’m happy with the step we made from P3 to [Qualifying] because although on the timesheets I looked 14th, I was definitely probably down to 18th, 20th. 

“And so I think there were some small improvements, which we’re happy about.”

The Australian added: “Tomorrow’s all about taking the race distance — hopefully the weather can help us out a little bit.

“We really can only move forward, and we’re just looking to learn as well if it’s in the wet, to learn as much as I can in the wet. 

“But also maximise any possibilities or circumstances where we can get further off the grid.”

With conditions still changeable, lights out for the Japanese Grand Prix will take place at 15:00 AEDT on Sunday.

Image: Photo by Sam Bloxham/LAT Images

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