Jack Doohan issues defiant Alpine vow after Saudi Arabian struggles

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Jack Doohan has vowed to 'keep his head down' after enduring "a very tough day" in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Starting from 17th on the grid at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Doohan finished last of the 18 classified drivers following a lap-one crash that forced Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly and Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda into early retirement. Doohan was the only driver to deploy a two-stop strategy, one that failed to reap any reward, leaving him without a point from his first five grands prix. The Australian found himself unable to pass Stake's Nico Hulkenberg in the opening stint, drawing him into the clutches of those behind, and once passed, it was "a little bit downhill from there". The only highlight of the race for Doohan was a late battle with fellow struggling rookie Gabriel Bortoleto in the second Stake. Both have endured the difficulty of being race winners in F2, and in Bortoleto's case its champion last season, to fighting at the rear in F1. "Me and Gabi were speaking about this earlier," said Doohan, speaking to media, including RacingNews365 . "We said that  hopefully very soon we're having these fights, but in the points further up and not for the final positions on track. "Just a very tough day. I'm going to keep my head down and focus on what's ahead." With a break now ahead of the next race in Miami, Doohan added: "We have a nice period where we can switch off, reset, and have a couple of days in the simulator." Doohan's growing belief The opening period of the season, with the five long-haul races in just six weekends, has been brutal for all concerned. A spotlight has focused on Doohan, although the indication recently emerged that he is safe through to the August summer break at least, if not through to the end of the season. The learning curve has been steep for Doohan, who said: "We're having to put a lot of focus onto the tyres. I think we're there or thereabouts on the qualifying pace. "Once we start a bit further up, then we can be in a bit more sync, not be so adventurous on the strategy, and things will just roll over a little bit more. "When we're on the back foot, like we were [in Saudi], it was a little bit of a snowball, and it went from more difficult to more difficult. "It's obviously a sprint in Miami, but the goal is to start on the front foot, be inside the top 10 in qualifying, and then do our best to stick there for the race." Doohan is adamant his confidence remains high, adding: "My confidence in this paddock, inside the car, working with the team has grown. "I'm continuing to learn how to optimise my package and also how to optimise our PU unit. Every lap I'm still learning, but I'm getting more and more confident.."