Sauber, who currently races as Alfa Romeo, might save Mick Schumacher’s Formula 1 career – but the young German is set to take a year off in 2023.
Audi recently announced it would enter the sport to take advantage of new engine regulations from 2026 – and shortly following Alfa Romeo said its current deal with Sauber would end following next season.
Audi is set to buy 75% of Sauber and the deal might be announced ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix at the end of this month. And Sauber might take the Audi name as early as 2024, with Ferrari continuing to supply the engine as a sleeping partner.
As Audi clearly wants a German driver in one of its bucket seats, that will at least have to wait until the contracts of Valtteri Bottas or Guanyu Zhou expire at the end of next year, even if the extension with Zhou for 2023 n has not yet been announced.
Mick Schumacher, currently without a steering wheel for 2023, would be coveted and signed by Audi to be in the car from 2024 according to several speculations. Indeed, difficult to wait and predict what might happen in 2026 for him. Other rumors are already announcing him in place of Zhou next year but this is not the desired scenario on the side of Sauber and Frédéric Vasseur.
If there is no starting place at Alfa Romeo for 2023, Schumacher may have to spend a year as a reserve driver at Hinwil.
