F1 team boss issues BRUTAL put down for star driver

Alpine boss Bruno Famin at the Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

F1 team boss issues BRUTAL put down for star driver

Mercedes reserve driver will not step into the cockpit of rival Formula 1 car soon

Shay Rogers

Wednesday 28 February 2024 13:57 Updated: 16:45

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Alpine have ruled out testing a young star driver in one of their Formula 1 cars this season as they weigh their options up ahead of 2025.

The French outfit have two drivers out of contract at the end of the season in the form of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.

Should either decide to leave, they would be left with a significant role to fill at the heart of their team – one which has been filled by talented drivers for many seasons.

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Next year could see one of the biggest field changes between seasons in Formula 1 history and it was all sparked by Lewis Hamilton’s shock move to Ferrari.

Mick Schumacher is a reserve driver at Mercedes besides his Alpine hypercar commitments

Alpine could be left to find another driver in 2025 if F1's silly season gets out of hand

Alpine await silly season

One man who is gunning to return to the grid is Mick Schumacher, but Alpine team principal Bruno Famin has ruled out any chance of the German testing their Formula 1 cars soon.

“No, we cannot [test Schumacher],” he said. “We don't plan because we have a reserve driver with Jack Doohan, and Mick is the Mercedes reserve driver. The contract we have with Mick is exclusively for endurance.

“We have a lot of options. Mick Schumacher is already an Alpine driver, and for the time being, we're really happy with Esteban and Pierre.

“Nobody knows when the silly season will really start. We had quite a strong input weeks ago [after Hamilton's Ferrari move] but nothing happened after.”

Schumacher last raced in Formula 1 back in 2022, after Haas brutally dropped him and left him without a seat on the grid.

He showed steady improvement during his second and last season to date – his young age could yet make him an attractive proposition to suitors like Alpine in the midfield.