has come out in defence of Jack Doohan following the ex-Method 1 driver’s troubled maiden Tremendous Method check blighted by three crashes on the identical nook.
Driving for the Toyota-powered Kondo squad on this week’s Suzuka post-season check forward of a possible change to Japan subsequent 12 months, .
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Resulting from his present contractual commitments with the Alpine F1 workforce, for which he contested the primary six grands prix of 2025 earlier than being changed by Franco Colapinto, Doohan was unable to handle the media instantly at Suzuka.
Nonetheless, Kondo Racing manufacturing facility supervisor and de facto workforce boss Nobuaki Adachi got here out in defence of the embattled Australian, praising the efficiency of the 22-year-old.
Adachi advised Motorsport.com: “Each Luke [Browning] and Jack carried out very properly. It simply so occurred that Jack had a collection of crashes, however he’s a driver with a whole lot of potential. Suzuka presently of 12 months may be very tough, and I believe he’ll have the ability to make the mandatory changes to make sure it doesn’t occur once more subsequent time.”
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Doohan’s third crash occurred in the course of the morning session of the ultimate day at Suzuka, when situations had been at their greatest, and Kondo repaired the broken #3 Dallara-Toyota in time for the final half-hour of the afternoon session.
He ended up ninth-fastest of the 14 rookies in motion on Friday, and twenty sixth total, eight tenths of a second slower than Browning, who completed fourth in F2 this 12 months. Adachi added that Kondo was decided to permit Doohan to finish his maiden Tremendous Method check on a constructive word.
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“I believe it could have been heartbreaking for him [if the final crash ended his test], so we did every thing to get him again out on observe,” stated Adachi. “We actually wished him to depart not having a nasty impression, and someway we had been ready to try this, which I’m comfortable about.”
Neither Doohan nor Williams junior Browning, who drove on the second and third days at Suzuka after coming back from F1 check duties in Abu Dhabi, are formally confirmed to race subsequent season, however it seems possible the pair will kind Kondo’s 2026 line-up.
They’re set to exchange and Zak O’Sullivan, who transfer on to fellow Toyota groups and Group respectively. Browning concluded the check with the fifth-fastest time among the many rookies and thirteenth total, 0.661 seconds behind TOM’S pacesetter and fellow first-timer Ugo Ugochukwu.
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On the workforce’s prospects for 2026, Adachi stated: “Given our ends in latest seasons, we’ve reached the conclusion that our automobiles have some points. The suggestions from Luke and Jack allowed us to establish some areas to enhance, so we’ll confirm these factors forward of the subsequent check [at Suzuka] in February.”
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