Doohan will compete for the first time on Australian soil at Albert Park this weekend,with a Formula 2 sprint race on Saturday and the feature race on Sunday - one of 14 rounds for the season.

He will also be in the Alpine garage when F1 drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon take to the track in the main race on Sunday.

Formula 2 is a feeder for the top tier and Powles has no doubt Doohan will feature on the Formula 1 grid one day.

“I think he’ll be there very shortly,” Powles said.

“He just needs to have a few races go his way this season. He’s had a bit of bad luck. He’s got some good points on the board,we just need to get a little bit more of a consistent run because I think he needs to finish in the first three in this category to get into F1.

“He’s got the ability,he’s just got to have the right equipment.”

In his three years with Powles,Doohan won three Australian karting championships,before heading overseas to have a proper crack at chasing his dream.

“He had to learn a few things along the way,” he said.

“His racing was pretty damn good,it was more his mental approach that we worked on. But as far as driving goes,there was very little to teach him in that area.

“He had natural ability,and they had their own Go-Kart track at home,a real good set-up,so he was in a kart all the time. I spent a fair bit of time out at their place preparing their karts.”

But Mick Doohan says there are no certainties when it comes to making the Formula 1 grid.

“He’s a reserve driver with an F1 team at the moment,that means bugger all,” he said.

“At the end of the day,the teams do understand what’s going on in F2 and who’s driving what and how they’re doing,so the better you can do in F2 the more chance you’ve got to elevate yourself to F1.

“There’s only 20 seats in Formula 1,so regardless of how well you perform,there have been numerous people perform in the junior categories but unfortunately,there haven’t been seats available. It’s good to align yourself with some of these so-called junior teams,which Jack has previously been part of the Red Bull junior team,and then he moved to the Alpine academy for last year.

“Piastri was with Alpine as well,and clearly after what happened last year he’s moved onto McLaren. But the better you can perform in the lower categories,in any sport - whether it’s football,tennis - you’re only going to elevate yourself if you’re winning,so that’s the primary goal.”

Doohan finished sixth in the Formula 2 title race last year,and competed in a few Formula 2 races in late 2021 - the season Piastri took out the title.

“He was probably on to win a hell of a lot more last year,but he had technical failures,he was crashed into on starts,” Mick said.

“He should be in a position to perform well this year. He’s in the same team,and they’ve had some minor issues so far this year,but nothing that should stop them.

“There’s 24 races over the 12 rounds left,so there’s a long way to go in the season and I think that’s it,stay consistent and do the best you can at each race. He’s clearly shown he has the speed to compete at the pointy end of the field,but you require everything to go in your favour sometimes,and sometimes it doesn’t.″⁣