Alpine junior Jack Doohan says his inclusion among a short list of drivers earmarked to replace Fernando Alonso at the Enstone squad next season has motivated him to work hard and perform.
Doohan, a three-time winner this year in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, is reportedly in Hungary this week, where the 19-year-old is taking part in a private F1 test with Alpine along with Antonio Giovinazzi and Nyck de Vries.
The trio is being evaluated as part of Alpine's 2023 plans, although many believe it's only a matter of time before the team confirms Pierre Gasly as Esteban Ocon's teammate for next season.
Still, this week's test and the discussions surrounding Alpine's line-up for 2023 and their mention of Doohan are boosting the young gun's motivation.
"To be honest, I'm happy with it, because there's obviously talk and obviously I want to do well, for sure," he said in Monza recently.
"I know it's there, so for me it's motivation to work hard. Not that I wasn't working hard, but to almost know I need to show my maturity, I need to show my head and I need to show that I'm capable of putting myself together.
"If it's not P1, it's taking P4 with a car that can take P4, and I'm not really under any pressure so I can just enjoy what I'm doing, and I love this.
"So being able to extract my potential and really enjoy this moment and this time."
Doohan is currently fourth in F2's standings with one round to go. But the Aussie needs to finish no lower than fifth in the championship to qualify for a superlicence.
But the son of motorcycle legend Mick Doohan is keeping a cool head, and he's also keeping it down by not getting involved in the buzz surrounding his future.
"Obviously it's a good time to perform, but all the times are a good time to perform, regardless of what's going on," he said.
"There's obviously a lot going on and I'm trying not to get too involved to be honest, I'm trying to stay focused on what I can control and that's my car, my team and outside of that is to be honest not a worry at the moment.
"I'm just going to try and put in good results, good performances and show what we can do.
"At the end of the day, at the end of the year, we'll see what happens, but I'm loving Formula 2 at the moment."
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