Jack Doohan has joined the Haas Formula 1 team as a reserve driver for 2026 with the target of getting back onto the grid in 2027.
Doohan made his F1 debut in the 2024 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for Alpine then contested the first six rounds of the 2025 season with the team.
He was the first Alpine junior to race for the team in F1 but was dropped from the seventh round onwards for Franco Colapinto, who Alpine had signed from Williams that winter.
Doohan did not get back in a race seat again, and was not allowed to test either, but continued in a reduced reserve role for the team.
Alpine announced the two parties had split at the start of 2026, freeing Doohan up to complete deals elsewhere.
There were conversations with various teams towards the end of last year including Williams and Sauber, but Haas always looked Doohan's most likely destination.
It affords the best path to an F1 return, even if a race seat is not guaranteed.
Haas currently has Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon as its driver line-up but Bearman is primarily contracted to Ferrari and while Ocon is on a ‘multi-year' deal this does not guarantee he stays beyond 2026.
Read more: F1 2027 grid so far
Doohan joins Ryo Hirakawa among Haas's reserve roster for 2026.
Doohan described Haas as the "ideal place to continue my Formula 1 career" while team principal Ayao Komatsu said he was "personally very excited to have Jack join us”.
"The dedication required to remain sharp and prepared to race while getting to know how the team works and so on, it's challenging for any driver – especially one who's obviously still very keen to race again at this level,” said Komatsu.
"I've enjoyed getting to know Jack and we're looking forward to welcoming him into the team and benefiting from his contributions.”
Not only is Haas probably the team most likely to have a vacancy that Doohan would be an appropriate candidate to fill, it also has a growing test programme to be part of.
Its Toyota deal includes an extensive private testing schedule using old cars, which has primarily been used to give Toyota-backed drivers F1 experience.
Why Super Formula move isn't happening
Doohan will not dovetail his Haas position with a race seat in Japan's Super Formula series as expected, though, despite testing with the Kondo team, which runs Toyota engines, at Suzuka last year.
He suffered a bizarre spate of crashes at the Degner corner combination across his days in the car but a mix of personal backing and what sounded like significant Toyota support meant he seemed on course to join the team for 2026 alongside Williams junior Luke Browning.
But Ukyo Sasahara has partnered Browning instead, with the Doohan negotiations ending due to disagreements over how best to proceed with making Kondo's #4 car more competitive.
Engineering set-ups are known to be a major point of contention when securing drives in Super Formula. F1 juniors like Browning, for example, tend to bring engineers across from Europe and the #4 Kondo car has had poor results for the past three seasons now.
Had Doohan's camp succeeded in getting the compromises deemed necessary to have a chance of a more competitive season than the results in testing suggested, the deal would likely have been completed as budget was not believed to be an issue.
It is unclear if Doohan, who was understood to have a shot at a Hypercar drive in the World Endurance Championship before his Super Formula negotiations developed, will pursue an alternative racing programme.
He has not competed in a full season since his 2023 Formula 2 campaign when he finished third in the championship.
