Метка: Mick Schumacher

Alpine ‘pushing’ to retain Mick Schumacher in WEC line-up next year

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Alpine says it is doing all it can to retain Mick Schumacher as a part of its Hypercar line-up in the World Endurance Championship next year.

Schumacher joined Alpine at the start of its new LMDh programme this year to race the #36 Alpine A424 LMDh alongside Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere in the WEC, having spent the 2023 season on the sidelines after being ousted by Haas in Formula 1.

But the German driver still harbours aspirations of racing in F1 and has made it clear on multiple occasions that his priority for 2025 is to be back on the grand prix grid.

In response to speculation about his future, Philippe Sinault, team principal of Signatech Alpine, says the French marque is in active dialogue with the 25-year-old to convince him to stay at the squad for a second term.

Asked how confident he was about retaining Schumacher next year, he told Motorsport.com: “It’s difficult to say. I hope [he stays].

“We push and we say to him immediately that for us it’s a really really key point that he must stay with us.

“But nothing [is] in my hand. Formula 1 is still Formula 1. We have to wait again. I hope in the short term we have some news about that.”

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Nicolas Lapierre, Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere, #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963: Will Stevens, Callum Ilott, Norman Nato

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Nicolas Lapierre, Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere, #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963: Will Stevens, Callum Ilott, Norman Nato

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Alpine itself considered Schumacher for a seat at its F1 team next year as it debated a replacement for Haas-bound Esteban Ocon, but eventually chose its junior driver Jack Doohan to partner Pierre Gasly.

Alpine motorsport boss Bruno Famin, who has a management role at both its F1 and WEC programmes, said he was impressed by Schumacher’s performance this year and is hoping he will continue with the squad in 2025.

“I’m very happy with Mick. He has done a very good job,” Famin told Motorsport.com.

“His adaptation to endurance has been incredible, very fast, very good, everybody knows that for a single-seater driver it’s not easy.

“And especially for him at the beginning of the year he was really focused on how to get a seat in Formula 1 and he is still on that.

“But if you put that aside, he is really focused on the programme. We saw again in Austin how fast he was during the race.

“I’m very happy with Mick, if we have the opportunity to continue together we are really happy.”

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere

Photo by: Andreas Beil

Schumacher’s chances of making an F1 comeback in the short-term appear to be slim, with only Sauber having a vacant seat for 2025.

Asked what Alpine can do to retain Schumacher’s services next year, Famin said: “To be better.

“It’s not only what the team can do, it’s [about his personal choice].

“We all know that Mick’s number one priority would be if he had the possibility [to return to F1], but we know that there is only one [seat] left to have the opportunity to go back to Formula 1.

“Let’s see what we do, what will be the final decision. From our side we will be happy [if he stays].”

Both Famin and Sinault stated that they hope Schumacher will extend his relationship with Alpine if he is unable to find a way to return to F1 next year.

Sinault also added: “I think we did a good job together. I’m so happy about his level of performance, his pace, his commitment, I think he is quite happy about the job also.

“If he is not in F1, we are closer to continue to work together.”

Schumacher: Japan podium doesn’t change anything

Schumacher, Lapierre and Vaxiviere finished third in this month’s penultimate round of the season at Fuji, securing the first podium finish for the Alpine A424.

The result also marked Schumacher’s first visit to the rostrum in any category since his title-winning campaign in Formula 2 in 2020, having never finished higher than sixth in his two years in F1.

But the 25-year-old says Alpine’s breakthrough result in Japan will not have any bearing on where he races in 2025.

«Right now we’re just happy with the podium,” he said. “Whatever happens for the future, will be decided at some point still this year, hopefully.

“As soon as I know what I will be doing, I will for sure put a press release out there and let you all know.

“But definitely the hope is for Formula 1, because that is what I dreamt of since I was a little boy. But it definitely feels great to be in WEC.»



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Alpine got Fuji podium despite starting weekend with «worst car»

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Mick Schumacher has hailed Alpine for improving a car that he felt was at its “worst” this year in order to clinch a maiden podium in the World Endurance Championship at Fuji.

During an impressive final stint, Schumacher snatched third place in the #36 Alpine A424 LMDh he shares with Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere, delivering the French manufacturer its best-ever finish since its return to the Hypercar category at the start of the year.

The result followed a tough weekend for the #36 crew, which struggled in comparison to the sister #35 car in practice and could qualify only 15th out of 18 entrants in the top class.

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Alpine hadn’t got to the bottom of the #36 car’s struggles in the run-up to the race, but Schumacher, Lapierre and Vaxiviere were able to come through the field to take an unlikely third place, finishing 42s down on the winning #6 Porsche.

After taking the chequered flag, Schumacher said he was impressed by how Alpine was able to turn around its performance in such a short span of time, but stressed that the team still had work to do ahead of the Bahrain season finale in November.

«It was tough this time,” he said. “I think we started off actually from, in my opinion, the worst car we’ve ever had this year.

“We were really fighting [the car] a lot and were not confident at all from our side. [The] #35 seem to be a bit better on that.

“In the #36, for some reason, we struggled a bit more. And could see it in the pace nonetheless compared to the #35.

“So there’s a lot of homework we still have to do. We should have to do some digging on our side if there’s something that is different.

“But on the other hand we can be really happy with our result. The #35 was also, at a time, in for the win. For it being our first year in the championship, it’s insane.»

Podium: #36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Mick Schumacher

Podium: #36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Mick Schumacher

Photo by: Andreas Beil

The result marked Schumacher’s first visit to the podium since his title-winning campaign in Formula 2 in 2020, having managed a best finish of sixth during his two-year stint in Formula 1.

The German driver showed impressive pace early in the race to propel the #36 Alpine inside the top 10 by the beginning of the second hour.

He returned behind the wheel of the car after a late safety car appearance, grabbing third place from the #12 Jota Porsche 963 of Norman Nato with less than 10 minutes remaining in the race.

The 25-year-old said he’d “had a lot of fun” on track after a very long time, but felt he’d had to “really fight” in order to secure the podium finish.

“It was good, we really, really fought for this one,” he said. “The team has made great calls in strategy all around the race and we really showed potential.

«We had some very close battles. I’m getting more confidence in how to fight in the WEC. I definitely wasn’t expecting it to be this hard, but these cars are pretty robust.

“It seems a bit like the good old days of karting. I had a lot of fun out there. It’s been a while that I was on the podium.»

Contrasting fortunes

#35 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Jules Gounon, Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen, Charles Milesi

#35 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Jules Gounon, Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen, Charles Milesi

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

The #35 Alpine crewed by Charles Milesi, Ferdinand Habsburg and Jules Gounon was on course for third before a drive-through penalty for Milesi put the #36 car out of the running for a podium finish.

Milesi was sanctioned for a collision with the #81 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R late in the race, but was able to recover to seventh to secure a double points finish for Alpine.

The Frenchman took responsibility for the incident, but felt the punishment didn’t fit the crime.

“The contact with the Corvette, I couldn’t do anything: he was going left-right, left-right and I didn’t know where he was going, so I tried to go outside and he moved at the last-minute,” he said.

“It was my fault, I hit him, but we need to accept the penalty for sure. It’s a bit harsh for what happened but anyway we have to deal with it. It’s my fault, I did a mistake and it cost us the podium.”



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