Schumacher will not be driving for Alpine F1 in 2025. The 25-year-old German had hoped to return to Grand Prix with the French team, but Alpine has put an end to those hopes and officially confirmed Doohan as Pierre Gasly’s future teammate.
Schumacher has an option left in the form of the Swiss team Sauber, controlled by Audi this season as it prepares for its F1 debut in 2026. Audi already has a driver in Nico Hulkenberg, but a seat in the second car is still available. Carlos Sainz was the original preferred candidate, but the Spaniard chose Williams.
F1 expert Marc Surer understands why Alpine chose Doohan over Schumacher. Although Schumacher drives for Alpine in the WEC, unlike Doohan, he is not an F1 junior. It is mainly for this reason that the Australian had a better chance than the German.
Read also:
In his opinion, Schumacher would have to be much faster than Doohan to have a realistic chance of taking a seat at Alpine. On the other hand, if both drivers made a similar impression, Alpine could still say: “We’ll take our young driver, because it makes sense.”
– Doohan obviously had the better performance in the direct duel with Schumacher. The Australian was fast in the junior formulas and did not win this duel by accident – says Surer.
The new Alpine driver was runner-up in the Formula 3 championship in 2021 behind Dennis Hauger but ahead of Logan Sargeant. In 2022, he finished 6th and in 2023 3rd in Formula 2.
As an interesting fact, Mick Schumacher, thanks to the decision of his father Michael and mother Corinna, was named after Mick Doohan, the legendary motorcycle champion and father of Jack Doohan. It is ironic that two sons of friendly families were now rivals for a place in Alpine.
The chances of Schumacher returning to F1 in 2025 are getting smaller and smaller. – The chances are small. Only Audi remains – believes Surer. The Swiss would like his compatriots to give Schumacher a chance. – Before they give Bottas a chance, who is no longer as motivated as he used to be, they could give Mick a chance too.
– I judged Mick quite harshly as an F1 driver, but that’s because I don’t think he’s used his talent. I believe in his abilities because the guy is fast and he’s proven that in F2.
– Unfortunately, for some reason he was not able to show it in F1, especially against Magnussen. But I wish him another chance – added Surer.
Read also:
