Alpine are considering how to respond to the collision between Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday. It could have major ramifications for the team’s 2025 driver plans.
Ocon tried to overtake Gasly on the inside of Portier – just before the tunnel – on the first lap of the race. Martin Brundle says it’s the kind of move you simply ‘do not’ make up against your teammate.
Ocon’s left-rear tyre launched over Gasly’s right-front, taking the former out of the race. The latter sustained damage but Alpine were able to tend to the car during a red-flag phase caused by the incident between Sergio Perez and the two Haas cars.
Gasly went on to finish 10th, scoring just the team’s second point of the campaign, but that wasn’t enough to dampen the fallout. Bruno Famin has told Ocon he will face consequences for ignoring the team’s instructions.
They could go as far as suspending him for the next race in Canada. Team principal Famin was seen in conversation with reserve driver Jack Doohan shortly after the chequered flag.
Ocon could also escape with a fine, and Alpine may institute a new protocol between their drivers. Like Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at Mercedes in 2016, they may have to adhere to stated rules of engagement under threat of a one-race ban.
Timo Glock says Alpine could hand Mick Schumacher another shot
Significantly, both Alpine drivers are out of contract at the end of the season. There have already been indications that Ocon is unhappy.
One report has suggested that he sees more ‘potential’ at rivals Williams. Another has even claimed that Haas will announce him as a 2025 driver ‘very soon’.
As for Gasly, he’s already been exploring his options and he could become even more unsettled if Alpine don’t deal with the Monaco clash appropriately. As such, there’s a possibility of not one but two vacancies at Enstone next year.
And Sky Germany’s Timo Glock believes that Mick Schumacher could be well-placed to fill one of them. Schumacher has been representing the team in the World Endurance Championship.
If Schumacher delivers in that series, then Glock says he could secure a ‘deserved’ return to Formula 1. He spent two years with Haas in 2021 and 2022 before losing his drive.
“I think there is unrest between the two [Alpine drivers],” said Glock. “Neither is happy with their current situation at Alpine. That’s why there is a great opportunity for Mick.
“He just has to try to continue to impress with his performances in the WEC and try to keep his foot in the door and show himself. That’s the only way he can get into a cockpit next year. I hope so for him, he deserves it.”
What Ralf Schumacher has said about nephew’s F1 future
Schumacher comfortably beat fellow rookie Nikita Mazepin in 2021 off the back of winning the F2 title, but he found life more difficult up against the veteran Kevin Magnussen the following year. Ultimately, a lack of big results may have cost him.
While he finished a career-best sixth at the 2022 Austrian GP, that accounts for 75% of his F1 points total to date, as you can see in the table below. It was one of only two top-10 finishes that year, with the other coming at the British GP (eighth).
Teammate Magnussen, meanwhile, scored points at six separate races to show Haas the benefit of experience. That may be why they partnered him with Nico Hulkenberg the following year.
While Schumacher has been carrying out a reserve role for Mercedes, his relationship with Alpine could be what earns him a route back into F1. Renault CEO Luca de Meo is ‘positive’ about the idea of giving him a chance, while Famin says it would be a ‘mistake’ not to consider him.
His uncle Ralf, a former F1 driver himself, has urged Audi to sign the 25-year-old ahead of their arrival. He reckons he’d be an ideal teammate for compatriot Hulkenberg, as opposed to Carlos Sainz.
The post ‘Keep his foot in the door’: Timo Glock says WEC driver has a 'great' chance of joining F1 grid for 2025 appeared first on F1 Oversteer.