Mick Schumacher and Jack Doohan have recognized one another for years. The 2 drivers have been lifelong pals, a relationship solid by the friendship between their fathers, and Michael Schumacher even gifted the youthful Doohan his very first racing kart.
Now the two pals are each into account for a spot at Alpine subsequent season.
The French staff introduced not too long ago that they have been parting methods with Esteban Ocon on the finish of the 2024 System 1 season, opening up a spot on the grid with the staff for subsequent 12 months. That opens up no less than one seat at Alpine for the 2024 F1 marketing campaign, and with Pierre Gasly additionally driving on an expiring contract, there’s a state of affairs the place each seats can be found.
As a part of their evaluation concerning choices for 2025, the staff confirmed on Monday that each Schumacher and Doohan could be testing the A522, the staff’s challenger for the 2022 F1 season, subsequent week. The testing will happen at Circuit Paul Richard, a monitor that has beforehand hosted the French Grand Prix.
The testing is a part of F1’s Testing of Earlier Automobiles (TPC) program, which permits groups to check vehicles which might be two years older or extra. Numerous groups have used this program already this season for a number of completely different causes. For instance, Mercedes used this program to supply each Schumacher — who along with his World Endurance Championship duties with Alpine is a reserve for Mercedes — and younger phenom Andrea Kimi Antonelli an opportunity to get behind the wheel of an F1 automobile.
“Finally all of the assessments are carried out to make sure our older vehicles are match for working at advertising occasions. They supply a possibility to seize loads of content material too. It additionally gives an additional benefit for the drivers,” Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin defined not too long ago. “For instance, while Mick helps shake down an previous automobile or guarantee it’s in good working order, it additionally permits him to maintain his expertise sharp as a driver. For Kimi, he can profit from constructing expertise in F1 equipment.”
Groups may also use the TPC periods to collect information on their present challengers, through a comparability between this 12 months’s automobile and a earlier mannequin. For instance, Purple Bull not too long ago put Max Verstappen again within the RB18, their 2022 challenger, to attempt to provide a comparability level between that automobile, and the RB20, their present mannequin.
“We actually tried to provide Max a reference from a earlier automobile,” defined Purple Bull Chief Engineer Paul Monaghan. “Whenever you’re making an attempt to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a present automobile, his reference is the present automobile, and it’s ‘in earlier years, we’ve had this, we’ve had that’.
“[But] have we actually? As a result of we haven’t run them on the identical time. So in taking that automobile out, we tried to provide Max a reference to guage it from and he’s been in a position to give us suggestions from that.”
The announcement of a testing session for each Doohan and Schumacher comes as hypothesis solely grows about Alpine’s choices for 2025. The staff introduced late final week, forward of the Spanish Grand Prix, that former F1 govt Flavio Briatore was becoming a member of the group in an advisory function. That announcement was then adopted by reviews that Briatore was making a last-ditch effort to woo Carlos Sainz Jr. to Alpine.
Sainz has lengthy been linked with each Williams and Sauber, however now Alpine appears to be a 3rd possibility for the highly-coveted veteran driver.
Nonetheless, Alpine has to think about all potential choices, and getting direct information from each Doohan and Schumacher will give them vital info when deciding on 2025.
May one — or each — be on the grid subsequent 12 months with Alpine? The upcoming testing session will go a good distance towards answering that vital query.
