Jack Duane: I'm not really a beginner anymore

      Jack Duane is going to start his home Australian Grand Prix for the first time, and the young Alpine F1 racer does not hide his emotions about this.

      Jack Duane: "To be honest, I really want to get on the track at Albert Park as soon as possible, because I've been preparing for this for so long. I'm looking forward to starting training tomorrow to enjoy driving our car, which is one of the goals I set for myself.

      I love what I'm doing, and I'm ready to work hard with the team to make full use of the experience and knowledge gained in pre-season testing this weekend and unlock the potential of the Alpine car on the track, whatever it may be.

      The test results can be considered quite positive, the team drove more laps on them than in 2024, the A525 car worked reliably, I got quite used to it. Of course, the weather conditions in which the tests were conducted were strange, uncharacteristically cold, so let's see what awaits us this weekend. It looks like it's going to be hot in Melbourne, especially on Saturday, so it's hard to predict how all this will affect our results, but everything will become clear very soon.

      It is important that I held my debut Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi last year, and I was very nervous before the start, I can honestly admit that. But since then, my emotional background has changed a lot, and now I'm much calmer when it comes to expectations of upcoming events. In particular, the team helps me very well to achieve the right attitude.

      Participating in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was beneficial in that I experienced the weekend from the cockpit of the car, rather than as an outside observer. So from a formal point of view, I'm not exactly a beginner anymore, and the upcoming weekend will not be my debut. I'm sure that in just a few races I won't be called a rookie anymore, and Liam Lawson shouldn't be called that either."

      At this point in the press conference, Oscar Piastri was asked when he stopped considering himself a rookie, and the McLaren driver's answer caused general laughter. "Yesterday, when I extended my contract with our team!" he said.