F1 Melbourne Grand Prix: How Michael Schumacher steered Jack Doohan into race cars, according to Mick Doohan

Motorsport legend Mick Doohan has revealed the role F1 icon Michael Schumacher played in his son Jack’s development as a race driver on the eve of the 22-year-old’s Melbourne Grand Prix debut.

Jack Doohan, competing in only his second F1 race, has been forced to field a barrage of questions about the security of his spot in the Alpine driving team after ex-Williams driver Franco Colapinto was signed as a reserve driver in the off-season.

Doohan has taken to the track today for a practice session alongside fellow Aussie hopeful Oscar Piastri, four-time defending champion Max Verstappen, and seven-time F1 title winner Lewis Hamilton, who is suited up with Ferrari this season.

Mick Doohan, the five-time MotoGP champion, said his son was “more chilled than I am” and the nerves would not get to him on the track on Sunday at Albert Park.

“He can handle it all. He seems relaxed. I am just here to be a dad,” Mick Doohan said during a TV interview today.

“He’s been karting since he was very young. He has worked towards this his whole life. To put himself in this position is no mean feat.

“He needs to enjoy it and do the best he can. He’s well accustomed to it. It’s just great he gets to start 2025 here in Melbourne.”

Mick Doohan and Michael Schumacher became friends when they were both living in Monaco during the 1990s and 2000s, and it was the German F1 great’s influence that helped Jack Doohan choose go-karting over motorcycle racing. Jack raced go-karts with Schumacher’s son Mick, and the families were close.

“They both grew up driving go-karts around and (Schumacher) helped Jack sway towards four wheels over two wheels, which I was very happy about,” Mick Doohan said.

Michael Schumacher has been in a medically induced coma for more than a decade after suffering a head injury during a skiing accident in 2013.

Jack Doohan has a pretty simple job according to his father and needs to ignore all the noise off the track about whether he will last more than three races this season.

“He’s just hoping he will be with his teammate or in front of his teammate. But anything is possible, so let’s wait and see what happens,” Mick Doohan said.

“To get himself there, working as much as he’s done, going to Europe, sacrificing what he has had to sacrifice to be one of the 20 is incredible. That’s going to set him up for the rest of his life.

“Being at the top of any sport in any discipline is no mean feat. We are just proud of him for that, and we just hope he is going to achieve his dreams.”