Ralf Schumacher has reacted furiously to Alpine’s lack of communication in choosing to go with Jack Doohan over his nephew.
Mick Schumacher has not raced in F1 since losing his seat with Haas at the end of the 2022 season.
He’s been a reserve driver for Mercedes ever since and had hopes of gaining a seat with Alpine after driving for their World Endurance Championship team.
However, Alpine have opted against choosing the son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher with Doohan announced as Pierre Gasly’s replacement for next year.
Mick revealed that he found out about the announcement through Instagram as opposed to being told by the team beforehand.
Ralf Schumacher is furious with Alpine for the way they handled their announcement
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His uncle, Ralf, was left incensed at Alpine for not informing them first before announcing their decision.
“That is no way at all,” Ralf said.
“You can just say that the team has completely lost its way at the moment anyway.
“People are being thrown out, thrown back in and so on. Flavio [Briatore] is kind of floating above it.”
There was a reported shoot-out between both Mick and Doohan in an older Alpine model recently.
However, Ralf called the test a farce as he suggested Alpine already made their mind up.
“He [Mick] drove in the afternoon and Jack Doohan in the morning,” Ralf said.
“I’ve been there myself. If you drove at 09:00, you were two and a half seconds faster because it was 38 degrees in the afternoon and there was wind.
“If you approach a test like that, you have to doubt that they took it seriously.
“I think it’s a shame because it’s just not fair and because nobody else gets the chance.”
Mick Schumacher is running out of options for a seat next year
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Alpine’s choice to go with Doohan limits Mick’s chances of a seat back in F1 next year.
Sauber, RB and Mercedes are the only teams left that have one seat available in each garage.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli appears set to take the Mercedes seat that will be made vacant by Lewis Hamilton.
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But Mick isn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet on potentially earning a seat back in F1.
“In the end, for my part, I am not giving up,” he said.
“There are still two seats open and so we have to keep working and pushing. Hopefully with a good result at the end of the year.
“You’ve already been able to see what I can do. Internally, the teams know that too.”