Schumacher to Miss Races if Called Up by Mercedes F1 Team

New Alpine Hypercar signing Mick Schumacher would miss FIA World Endurance Championship races in case he was called up to race in Formula 1 as part of his reserve duties with the Mercedes-AMG F1 operation.

Schumacher was confirmed on Wednesday as part of the six-man driver crew that will pilot the A424 LMDh car in WEC next season, also joined by new signings Paul-Loup Chatin and Ferdinand Habsburg.

Not long after Alpine made its announcement, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team confirmed that the 24-year-old would also continue in his role as reserve driver for the Brackley-based operation. Schumacher has held that role since the start of the 2023 season.

Schumacher, as well as Alpine Vice President of Motorsports Bruno Famin, both indicated that the German’s role in F1 would take “priority” in the event either Lewis Hamilton or George Russell are somehow sidelined and unable to race.

“That would be the case where if, let’s say, F1 needs me, that the priority lies there and that I’ll be racing over to that side, wherever that might be,” Schumacher said. “So that is very clear.”

Famin added: “The contract is clear and the agreement with Mick is clear, if he has the opportunity to drive in F1 to replace George or Lewis, he will go to F1.”

The F1 calendar is currently set to clash with five out of eight WEC rounds. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is unaffected, although the test day does fall on the same date as the Canadian Grand Prix.

Famin indicated Alpine has a reserve driver lined up to cover Schumacher’s absence should such circumstances occur, adding that that driver’s identity will be revealed “in due time.”

“We will have one and among the Alpine family and the Alpine Endurance Team family,” he said. 

“If we have a problem, we will easily find a reserve driver. But we will have one, which will be announced later.”

Alpine’s motorsport boss said signing Schumacher was a ‘no brainer’ as soon as it became apparent that he was interested in a move to endurance sports car racing.

“I’m convinced that in F1, he’s underestimated,” said Famin.

“Because I think he’s a very good driver, a very fast driver. Don’t forget, he has been Formula 2 champion, Formula 3 champion.

“He has a lot of very good skills and having the opportunity to have such a fast and good driver, I don’t see why we would have missed it.

“What he can bring to the team is experience of the very, very high level [of F1]. Of course, endurance is now becoming a very high level discipline too, because with many manufacturers with very high-level lineups and engineers I think it’s really becoming important.

“With the BoP it’s important to come with very good drivers. A good driver is not only a fast driver, it’s a driver who will manage the tyres for one, two, three stints, who will take care of the car for his teammates, who will be happy to make some compromise in the seat position for all three drivers to be globally happy on that sort of mindset.”

“But having Mick bringing this experience of the very high level. He’s still [with] Mercedes, he has a very good experience of what is a very top-level F1 team.

“He has two full seasons with Haas and he will bring us some ideas, some methodologies, he will put the bar higher for sure to all of us. This is really what we expect from him.”

Habsburg: Securing Factory Driver Role ‘Like Falling in Love’

Schumacher will be joined in Alpine’s Hypercar driver roster by former single-seater rival Ferdinand Habsburg, who steps up to top-class competition after several successful years in LMP2.

Habsburg, who raced against Schumacher in F3, including at the Macau Grand Prix, likened the feeling of penning a factory driver deal to ‘falling in love.’

“I feel very tickly about it,” he said. “I’m smiling all the time, laughing all the time, like in a good mood.

“Like when I fall in love, it’s the same feeling. Excitement, happiness.

“When I was younger, like three, four or five years ago, definitely there was a part of me that honestly was not believing in myself enough to get there, to really make it a career.

“This is like a strange, honest confirmation of that dream coming true. So, of course, when you do that, it’s like watching the sunrise with your best friends, with good music, that’s the feeling.”