Doohan’s Suzuka triple shunt traced to setup quirk as Super Formula move nears
Jack Doohan’s first proper taste of Super Formula bit back, hard. The Australian had three near-identical offs at Suzuka during last week’s post-season test, all at Degner 1, all with the front bouncing as he attacked the kerb — and all, it turns out, a by-product of how aggressively Kondo Racing pushed its setup window.
Doohan flew straight from his Alpine reserve duties at the Abu Dhabi finale to join Kondo for the three-day running. Over the test he sampled both of the Toyota-backed squad’s Dallara SF23s while the garage cycled through a wide range of changes. It’s understood that combination — two different chassis and heavy experimentation — contributed to a front-end “hop” over Degner’s inside kerb that unsettled the car at turn-in and again mid-apex. Same corner, same signature bounce, same result. Three times.
On paper, it sounds grim. In person, Kondo boss Nobuaki Adachi didn’t see a driver out of his depth. “Both Luke [Browning] and Jack performed very well,” he told Motorsport.com. “It just so happened that Jack had a series of crashes, but he is a driver with a lot of potential. Suzuka at this time of year is very difficult, and I think he’ll be able to make the necessary adjustments to ensure it doesn’t happen again next time.”
The context matters. Kondo is no slouch but it isn’t the plum Toyota berth. The team finished seventh in the 2025 standings with a single podium, fielding ex-Williams junior Zak O’Sullivan alongside local ace Kenta Yamashita. Doohan’s presence there — rather than at TOM’S or KCMG — is understood to be the consequence of a late call to head to Japan, with seats at the bigger hitters already accounted for even if not publicly nailed down.
The bigger play is clear. Doohan is closing on a 2026 Super Formula deal with Kondo while simultaneously working to secure a Haas F1 reserve role for the same season, a move that dovetails neatly with Toyota’s ramped-up involvement with the American outfit. Toyota’s Gazoo Racing arm has broadened its technical collaboration with Haas, with the stated aim of creating pathways for Japanese drivers, engineers and mechanics to gain experience in F1. Given Toyota’s deep footprint in Super Formula — it supported 14 drivers this year, including both Kondo seats — there’s obvious connective tissue for a driver looking to stay sharp and visible.
And that, ultimately, is the point for Doohan. He hasn’t raced since a one-off F1 outing at the Miami Grand Prix and has made no secret of an F1 return target for 2027. Japan offers race mileage in a ferociously fast car on old-school tracks, with results secondary to seat time. If that means a few bruises and some bodywork bills in December, so be it.
There are moving parts to resolve. A Kondo deal for 2026 isn’t signed off yet, with discussions over Doohan’s release from Alpine still live; F2 racer Alex Dunne is tipped to step into the Alpine reserve slot once that door closes. But the pieces are aligning. A Toyota-linked Super Formula program paired with a Haas reserve brief would keep Doohan embedded in the F1 paddock while logging the kind of race mileage you can’t get from a simulator.
As for the Suzuka incidents themselves, they’ll sting, but they’re not a verdict. Degner 1 is a trap at the best of times — steep kerb, quick hands required, zero runoff to barter with. When you’re hustling an SF23 on cold winter tarmac with a front-end platform that’s still being mapped, the window between committed and caught out is razor thin. Kondo learned something. Doohan learned a lot. That’s what tests are for.
File it under ugly data, not damage control. The next time he turns into Degner, expect the car to stay flatter — and the headline to be about lap time, not carbon shards.
