Mick Schumacher’s hopes of a Formula 1 return for Alpine have been dashed. The French manufacturer, for which the 25-year-old German competes in the World Endurance Championship, has chosen Jack Doohan. The 21-year-old son of Australian motorcycle legend Mick Doohan will get the second cockpit at Alpine next to Frenchman Pierre Gasly next year. Alpine announced this on the sidelines of the first Formula 1 Grand Prix after the summer break in Zandvoort.
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The seat was vacated by the departure of Esteban Ocon. The Frenchman will drive for the American Haas team from 2025.
Showdown between Mick Schumacher and Jack Doohan
A few weeks ago, there was a test between Mick Schumacher and the previous Alpine reserve driver Doohan for the vacant Alpine cockpit. Bruno Famin, who was still responsible for the Formula 1 team at the time, stressed afterwards that both had done well.
After a few turbulent weeks at the French team, Famin is no longer in charge. Instead, Brit Oliver Oakes will be in charge after the summer break. Flavio Briatore, the former Michael Schumacher team boss during his first two world championship titles, is acting as an advisor at Alpine, but the 74-year-old Italian is also said to be involved in Jack Doohan’s management.
Things went badly for Mick Schumacher
This means that another option is no longer available for Mick Schumacher. The son of Formula 1 record world champion Michael Schumacher drove for Haas in 2021 and 2022. However, he had a difficult time under the then team boss Günther Steiner and was not given a follow-up contract.
He has been a reserve and test driver for Mercedes since the beginning of 2023. However, he is not considered a candidate for the seat vacated by Lewis Hamilton – the Briton will drive for Ferrari from next year. The best chances are given to the currently 17-year-old Italian Kimi Antonelli.
For Mick Schumacher, the future Audi racing team could still be an option. The only thing that is certain so far is that fellow countryman Nico Hülkenberg will be racing for the Sauber team, which was taken over by the German car manufacturer, from next season.
From 2026, the team boss will be Briton Jonathan Wheatley, who will move from Red Bull to Audi. The project manager is Italian Mattia Binotto, who knows Mick Schumacher well. The German was part of the Ferrari junior academy when Binotto was the Scuderia’s team boss.
Mick Schumacher and Jack Doohan have also known each other for a long time and well. His father Mick Doohan is a good friend of the Schumacher family.