Sep.17 (GMM) Flavio Briatore has confirmed Mick Schumacher is not in contention for Alpine’s final open seat on the 2026 Formula 1 grid.
The situation at Red Bull and Racing Bulls now appears set, with Yuki Tsunoda almost certainly set to depart, Isack Hadjar promoted to partner Max Verstappen, and teenager Arvid Lindblad joining Liam Lawson at the junior team.
That leaves Alpine as the only major question mark.
Ralf Schumacher told T-Online that his nephew Mick’s chances are basically gone, and that Tsunoda’s F1 career may also be over.
“He’s lucky that the team has already announced they want to finish the season with him,” Ralf said of Tsunoda. “Something fundamental would have to change in the coming races for him to stay, but I fear Tsunoda will continue driving as he has been – and won’t even have a Formula 1 cockpit next year.”
Tsunoda had been linked with Alpine, but Briatore has now made clear that the options are elsewhere.
“I’m still open to the second cockpit,” the Alpine boss told Auto Motor und Sport. “Maybe I should sign a Formula E driver? But seriously. We’re still open.
“The two experienced drivers (Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez) are going to Cadillac. Let’s see how our young drivers perform over the rest of the season. We have Colapinto, we have (Paul) Aron, and we’ll also test again with (Jack) Doohan.”
Briatore admitted that Colapinto, though inconsistent, is currently favourite. “Doohan had too many accidents. Colapinto was also disappointing at the beginning. We thought he’d perform better.
“Now he’s slowly getting into his stride. He knows the car better and feels more comfortable,” he said.
As for Sergio Perez, Briatore revealed he was indeed an option before Cadillac moved in. “Perez called me,” the 75-year-old Italian revealed.
“He asked me what our plans were, but at the same time, he said he was close to reaching an agreement with Cadillac. I couldn’t offer him anything at the time,” Briatore confirmed.
When asked about Mick Schumacher, Briatore was blunt: “He’s not on our list.”
Ralf Schumacher admits that is a harsh verdict. “He’s been out of Formula 1 for a few years now, and you could say he’s running out of time,” Ralf said when asked about his nephew.
“And we mustn’t forget, there are already a number of younger drivers pushing from Formula 2, such as Alex Dunne and Arvid Lindblad, both of whom have a good chance of making it to Formula 1 in the near future.
“It’s not going to get any easier for Mick, that’s for sure.”
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