Ex-Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher believes that his nephew Mick was denied a 2023 seat at AlphaTauri by Dr Helmut Marko for “personal reasons”.
At the end of 2022, Schumacher was dropped by Haas following two seasons inside the squad, with the US-owned outfit opting to sign Nico Hulkenberg in his place.
The son of the seven-time World Champion Michael was vaguely linked with an AlphaTauri drive alongside Yuki Tsunoda, however it decided to sign rookie Nyck de Vries.
Schumacher took up a position with Mercedes as a reserve driver for 2023, assisting the Brackley-based squad amid a dip in on-track form.
However, speaking to Formel1.de, Ralf suggests that AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost was originally interested in Schumacher before Marko intervened.
“Franz Tost, as the team manager and team principal, initially wanted a different driver because he knows that it takes two to three years [to get drivers up to speed],” said the former Jordan and Toyota racer.
“The driver available on the market was Mick. Mick would have made sense as well.
“But then Dr. Helmut Marko came along and, for personal reasons or whatever it may be, didn’t want that and chose Nyck de Vries, instead.”
When asked if Schumacher could have a position within the AlphaTauri team going forward, Ralf replied: “It seems that Helmut Marko has a problem with the Schumacher name.
“Even though I have a good exchange with him personally, it seems he has some problem with Mick because otherwise, it’s not understandable to me why it didn’t work out from the beginning.”
Schumacher is targeting a full-time return to the grid in 2024, and AlphaTauri could emerge as a possibility amid de Vries’ challenging start to life in F1.
While Red Bull has a flurry of juniors that it could place into its sister team, Ralf Schumacher sees his nephew as the best fit.
“To be honest, I don’t see anyone else in the squad who would fit in there at the moment,” he said.
“That’s why I’m surprised by what Dr. Helmut Marko is doing.”
