Ralf Schumacher believes Alpine hiring Flavio Briatore as their executive adviser to the team could help one driver replace Esteban Ocon and make their return to Formula 1.
Groupe Renault CEO Luca de Meo has brought disgraced team boss Briatore back to F1 after watching Alpine struggle this season. The Enstone squad sit eighth in the constructors’ table before the Spanish GP thanks to Ocon and Pierre Gasly scoring five points from nine rounds.
Only Williams (2) and Sauber (0) sit below Alpine in the teams’ table. Gasly is also only 15th and Ocon is 17th in the drivers’ championship. Gasly scored his three points with P10 in the Monaco GP plus P9 in the Canadian GP. Ocon secured P10 in the Miami GP and in Montreal.
Ralf Schumacher thinks Alpine hiring Flavio Briatore could help Mick Schumacher
Alpine started the season on the backfoot after designing an overweight car that also lacked downforce. Drama has also engulfed the team with Alpine confirming that Ocon will leave at the lapse of his contract after colliding with Gasly and ending his Monaco GP on the first lap.
Briatore will now try to ease the drama in Enstone, with Ocon also revealing that team chief Bruno Famin has ‘promised’ him ‘equal treatment’ following a dispute over having a heavier chassis than Gasly. But Briatore will also identify the best drivers for Alpine to sign for 2025.
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Gasly is also out of contract after the 2024 season and Mick Schumacher is a driver whom Alpine might explore. Famin has even admitted that it ‘would be a mistake’ for Alpine to not asses Schumacher. The 25-year-old has impressed Famin with his work for Alpine in WEC.
Now, Mick’s uncle, Ralf Schumacher, believes Briatore also returning to Formula 1 – 15 years on from the FIA banning him – may be an advantage in the German’s bid to join Alpine. The family and Briatore still have a ‘good’ bond from his time working with Michael Schumacher.
“Flavio wants to see performance first,” Schumacher told F1-Insider. “That is crucial. But it is certainly not a disadvantage that there are still good contacts with the family.”
Flavio Briatore and Michael Schumacher won three F1 titles with Benetton
Briatore was the man who tempted Michael Schumacher to quit Jordan after his debut in F1 at the 1991 Belgian GP for Benetton. Together, they went on to win the drivers’ title in 1994 and 1995 and the 1995 teams’ title. Now, Briatore may help Michael’s son Mick return to F1.
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Mick Schumacher is two seasons removed from the pinnacle of motorsport after Haas axed the 2020 Formula 2 champion following the 2022 F1 season. He spent two terms with Haas but only scored 12 points. All of the German’s points came through a crash-filled 2022 term.
Haas ultimately canned Schumacher after costing the team a fortune in repairs after splitting his VF-22 in half twice with huge crashes at the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP and the Monaco GP. Schumacher also only took top-10 finishes at the 2022 British GP (P8) and Austrian GP (P6).
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