Formula 1

F1 Rumours: Mick Schumacher Could Be Pushed Out Of The Sport As Contracts Start

Rumours are circulating that Fernando Alonso could be signing a deal with Alpine that could extend his contract with the team for another two years. But with this, this will stop Oscar Piastri from joining the team, forcing him to look for other entrances. One potential entrance into F1 for Piastri is through Haas, putting Mick Schumacher’s position in jeopardy.

F1 journalist Joe Saward expects the Australian to now focus his attention on either Williams or Haas. But aiming for the American-owned racing team could put Mick Schumacher in the dangerous situation of being pushed out of the sport as drivers are already scurrying to confirm their futures.

Carlos Sainz recently signed to stay with Ferrari for another two seasons meaning Schumacher has no immediate future there, and with Alonso’s recent rumours, Saward had a lot to say:

“After that the French firm may wish him to move into its LMDh sports car programme. Fernando is a smart cookie and knows that dumping him would be a negative thing for Alpine.

“But with Oscari Piastri sitting uncomfortably in the wings, Fernando needs not only to perform but also to get support. He has just announced a personal sponsorship deal with Castrol, Alpine’s oil sponsor, which makes it harder for Alpine to move him on. A clever move.”

Esteban Ocon, Alonso’s teammate, is contracted with Alpine until 2024, completely locking out the team for the Australian, so Piastri will have to look elsewhere with Saward saying that Williams would be the “obvious choice” as Williams needs a “stronger second driver than Nicholas Latifi” who hasn’t found much luck this season so far.

Williams “would be better off going with Nyck de Vries, a Mercedes Formula E champion, who is looking for things to do in the future as Mercedes is leaving the all-electric series soon and will sell its team to McLaren,” the journalist said.

“De Vries used to be a McLaren driver and was ditched by the current management in 2019 and so he would rather look for a job in F1, if there are any options available.

“Down at Williams, they quite like the look for the strong-jawed Dutch imp.”

This does beg the question, would Piastri want to join a failing team such as Williams? Likely not. And with Haas finally finding the pace that Guenther Steiner’s facial expressions deserve, it’s a no-brained that he’d be looking towards them.

“He now needs to prove that he can he play at the big table,” Saward said about Schumacher. “The only way he can do that is to beat Kevin – and Magnussen has still some more preparation to do before he gets fully up the speed, as he jumped into the seat at the last minute and was not really fit enough.

“If Kevin shows Mick the way around this year, Ferrari might give up the dream of ‘Schumacher II – The Sequel’ and look for a new idea.”

Alex Harrington

Alex started racing at a young age so certainly knows his way around a car and a track. He can just about put a sentence together too, which helps. He has a great interest in the latest models, but would throw all of his money at a rusty old French classic and a 300ZX. Contact: [email protected]

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