“We could change”– Alfa Romeo can bring in two drivers in 2022; Mick Schumacher to get nod?

“We could change”– Alfa Romeo can bring in two drivers in 2022 by sacking Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi; Mick Schumacher’s inclusion?

Alfa Romeo recently announced the continuation of its alliance with Sauber in Formula 1; now, with the solidification of plans, it may plan an overhaul for next year.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by FORMULA 1® (@f1)

Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur has talked about the possibility of replacing both Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi from the lineup.

“It could be a point, but it’s not necessary,” he said of the suggestion of retaining either Giovinazzi or Raikkonen for continuity, as quoted by The Race.

“You can say that it’s always good to have a kind of continuity into the team because at least you have a reference and you can compare with the feeling of the previous year and blah blah, blah.

“Let’s see. We’ll make a choice when it is the right time to do it. We could keep the same line-up, or we could change. Everything is open. And I think it’s also quite comfortable for the team to have everything open. It’s good for Antonio and good for Kimi.

“I don’t have the feeling that to be under pressure is fundamentally bad. We need the pressure to perform. And I don’t want to be in an easy world.

“He [Giovinazzi] is on the list for sure, and he is part of the family; he is improving. And he will be on the top of the list for next year. Now I want to see more improvement, more results in the race.

“Everybody’s under pressure. I am under pressure, the engineers are under pressure, the drivers they have to be under pressure. It’s a world of pressure.”

Mick Schumacher to join Alfa Romeo?

With Alfa Romeo’s new extension, it has more liberty to sign its own drivers rather than satisfy Ferrari’s whims. So, Vasseur has claimed that it would consider every aspect before hiring someone, even if Schumacher.

“I will do as I did in the past, I think it’s good for us to keep everybody under pressure. And we will see how the market is evolving,” Vasseur explained.

“The system will fill the places at the top. It means that Mercedes has to take a decision and then Red Bull has to take a decision and like a domino, at one stage we will have some opportunities on the table and we’ll take a decision at this stage.”

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

Read More