“I think it’s a shame because it’s just not fair”: Mick Schumacher’s uncle criticizes Alpine's shoot-out test for Jack Doohan
Ralf Schumacher has slammed Alpine over its decision for Mick Schumacher. The former F1 driver alleged that the French team was unfair toward his nephew and did not take the latter's F1 test seriously. His allegations came after it announced Jack Doohan as its full-time driver for the 2025 season.
Mick Schumacher and Doohan underwent a recent test for next season's vacant seat at Alpine. However, according to Schumacher's uncle, the Enstone-based team was biased and allotted two different times for the two drivers, making the situation difficult for the former Haas star.
Schumacher noted that his nephew had to carry out his test in hot weather, wind, and a significantly warmer track temperature in the afternoon. Doohan ran in the morning and did not face such difficulties, as per him. Speaking to Sky Germany, the 49-year-old said:
"He [Mick] drove in the afternoon and Jack Doohan in the morning. I’ve been there myself. If you drove at 09:00, you were two and a half seconds faster because it was 38 degrees in the afternoon and there was wind. If you approach a test like that, you have to doubt that they took it seriously. I think it’s a shame because it’s just not fair and because nobody else gets the chance.”
Mick Schumacher is currently racing under the Alpine fraternity as its Hypercar driver in the World Endurance Racing championship. He has been waiting for an F1 return since 2023, and as things stand, it's a dead end. The 25-year-old raced at the Kannapolis-based team for two years and claimed 12 points.
The former Haas driver lost his F1 seat at the end of 2022 when the American team sacked him in favor of Nico Hulkenberg.
Ralf Schumacher furious with Alpine's treatment of Mick Schumacher
Ralf Schumacher's fury with Alpine did not end with the "unfair" claim, as he hit out at the French team over its announcement procedure. The six-time Grand Prix winner claimed that the Flavio Briatore-led team "lost its way."
Alpine announced Jack Doohan's appointment via a social media post on Instagram with "Dreams Doo come true" as the caption. Schumacher felt this was an insult to his nephew, Mick, as the latter was not informed directly by the team management about the decision.
"That’s absolutely not the way!” Schumacher said. "You can just say that the team has completely lost its way at the moment anyway. People are being thrown out, thrown back in and so on. Flavio [Briatore, Alpine Executive Advisor] is kind of floating above it.”
Doohan will replace Haas-bound Esteban Ocon at the end of the 2024 season and will join Pierre Gasly at Alpine. He is a former member of the Red Bull Junior Team and is currently racing in F2 with Invicta Virtuosi Racing.