Formula the number one Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas is still without a contract for next season, even in September in the Swiss media it was already assured that Bottas would continue in the Sauber team. On Saturday, there was another twist in the picture: the director of the F1 project of Audi, which owns Sauber, was appointed in the summer Mattia Binotto says an Italian newspaper For Corriere della Serathat German Mick Schumacher is one possible option for the driver’s seat.
An F1 legend Michael Schumacher son Mick, 25, lost his F1 seat at the Haas team after the 2022 season. He has been the Mercedes team’s reserve driver since last season.
“Definitely (he is an option), we will evaluate the situation (for him). I’ve met him and talked to him, I’ve known him since the days of the Ferrari driver academy. I know his strengths and weaknesses, and he is one of the names in our thoughts,” Binotto told Corriere della Sera.
Autosport according to Schumacher wanted a place in the Alpine team for next season, but the place was taken by a rookie driver Jack Doohan. The now-emerging Sauber seam may be Schumacher’s last chance to return to Formula One as a racing driver, Autosport estimates. It adds that other options mooted for Sauber include Bottas and the F2-leading young Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto.
Binotto states that there was no need to hurry in filling the open driver position. Sauber said already in the spring that the German Nico Hulkenberg drive in the team next season.
“We have had the luxury of not having to rush the matter, because all the other teams have decided on their lineups. There are two important factors (to be weighed): on the one hand, experience as we head towards our growth (as an F1 team) and on the other hand, a young, talented driver who can be with us on the way to the top.”
“We have Everest in front of us, and the climbing is just beginning,” Binotto summed up Audi’s F1 project.
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