Alpine has confirmed Mick Schumacher will be part of its six-man driver line-up for its entry into the World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar class next year.
The former Ferrari Driver Academy member spent two seasons driving for Haas in Formula 1 before being dropped by the team at the end of last year. He spent this year as a reserve driver for Mercedes and will remain in the role in 2024.Alpine will enter two of its new A424 Hypercars in WEC next year. Schumacher will join development drivers Nicolas Lapierre, Matthieu Vaxiviere and Charles Milesi in their line-up. Paul-Loup Chatin and Ferdinand Habsburg complete Alpine’s squad.
Schumacher tested Alpine’s WEC car at Jerez in Spain last month. He said his move into top flight sportscar racing, where his father Michael Schumacher competed for Mercedes in the nineties, is a “new chapter” for him.
“The car is impressive and I can’t wait to get started,” said Schumacher. “I’ve grown up with single-seaters, so driving a car with a closed cockpit and covered wheels is a great opportunity to hone my driving skills.”
He said he’s “sorely missed racing this year” following his departure from F1. “It’s what I’ve loved to do since I was a kid and it was sometimes difficult to watch the other drivers take to the track.
Alpine’s vice-president of motorsports Bruno Famin said he and team manager Philippe Sinault “wanted drivers who are not only fast and reliable, but also showing a real team spirit and good racing acumen to best represent the Alpine colours in the premier category of the World Endurance Championship.”
“We hope they will all bring their own experience and qualities to the project,” Famin continued, “for example Charles with his youth, Nicolas with his experience in endurance to mentor the younger drivers, and also Mick, with his experience gained at the highest level. It might be his first foray into endurance, but his enthusiasm for the project and his will to join us are palpable. I’m sure he will be a real asset.”
Alpine will present the A424 in its official livery at a launch event on February 7th next year.
View the current list of 2024 F1 drivers and teams
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Jere (@jerejj)
22nd November 2023, 11:16
As expected for a little while.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
22nd November 2023, 14:59
Some might say washing cars is about the right level for him…
Interested to see if sportscar connections (especially Alpine, Ferrari and Aston Martin) ever become a route (back) into F1 for drivers, as they were for Mick’s dad, Frentzen, Brundle and others. Wishful thinking I suspect for Mick and Giovinazzi.