Mick Schumacher’s chances of remaining at the Haas F1 Team appear to be decreasing, with it being announced that former F1 driver and Ferrari reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi will take part in two FP1 sessions for the American team.
Schumacher is currently without a contract for next season, with the German only having two realistic options remaining should he want to continue in the championship.
The first option is to remain at Haas; however, his relationship with the team isn’t believed to be particularly strong at the moment, despite having improved considerably throughout the season.
The other option is to hope the Alpine F1 Team makes an offer for his services, which could very well happen if the actions of Alpine’s CEO are anything to go by.
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It’s been discovered that Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi follows Schumacher on Instagram, perhaps an indication that Rossi is a fan of the young German.
Schumacher’s uncle, ex-F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, believes his nephew is a “candidate” to replace Fernando Alonso at the French team.
Should the German move to Alpine then it would most likely involve him leaving the Ferrari academy, something which has been rumoured.
The favourite for the Alpine seat remains Daniel Ricciardo; however, the German’s age could prove more beneficial should the Enstone-based team be wanting to target their line-up with the future in mind.
F1 commentator Alexey Popov doesn’t know how likely the chances of Schumacher going to Alpine are but doesn’t think it can be ruled out.
“It turns out now that Laurent Rossi, the CEO of Alpine who has been mucking up a lot of stories over the past couple of years, has followed Mick Schumacher on social media,” said Popov, the Russian F1 commentator for Match TV.
“Now everyone is saying ‘Maybe they won’t take Ricciardo after all. Mick, as we hear, is leaving the Ferrari academy and has problems at Haas.’
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“Even though he started to go better in the last races, the relationship has apparently been ruined,” Popov insisted.
“In short, Ocon is now the lead driver and Mick is young but has gained enough experience for his third season. So there is a lot of talk about him.
“Is it very likely? I don’t know, to be honest,” the Russian admitted.