Fernando Alonso, it is being said, is on the cusp of signing a new Formula 1 deal. The mega driver responsible for collecting no fewer than 32 Grands Prix victories, 98 career podiums and forget not, two (not one) world championships, is currently the most experienced driver on the grid.
The noted Alpine driver holds a legendary status on the grid and with Kimi Raikkonen having retired (toward the end of the last season), Alonso is the oldest star in a famous trinity that includes Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
But given the fight and the appetite to battle out there on the tarmac is still very much one of Fernando Alonso‘s key strengths, forget not that he was actually in the fight for the top slot in the Australian GP qualifying right up to the point where he crashed out, it seems a new deal is in the works.
While there’s no official confirmation about that as yet, it is very much expected that an official call will be made soon. Until then, we can only sit back and imagine as to by when can the Alonso new deal announcement be made- maybe by the end of the Miami Grand Prix, which is in two weeks’ time? But all of that is pretty much conjecture!
Though what isn’t, practically speaking, is that should Fernando Alonso sign a new contract extension deal with his current racing outfit, it could well be curtains for Mick Schumacher.
But then Mick belongs to another team and yet, something like this could actually happen? But how?
Here’s an attempt to make a sense of things:
We are just four races into the ongoing world championship but something that occupies a dominant discussion is the driver pairing for the next forthcoming season, which is sitting months away!
Schumacher hasn’t scored a single point, but ideally should. It’s not helping his cause a great deal that his teammate, Kevin Magnussen, who’s driving the exact same Haas as the son of the great German legend is already pulling out some tough fights and winning them as well.
Mick perhaps already knows that he’s under some pressure (which could even be enormous) to save his seat, and effectively, with it, his F1 career. Meanwhile, other youngsters who are still to mark their F1 debut, among them, Oscar Piastri, the reigning F2 world champion, are knocking the doors of the top seat in motorsport racing.
Truth be told, you ignore someone like Oscar Piastri and you turn a blind eye on someone who, with time and exposure, could be a massive force to reckon with.
Meanwhile, that Ferrari have extended Carlos Sainz for two further seasons effectively ends the possible or conceived promotion of Schumacher into the very team where we all thought he’d one day go to.
Alonso, meanwhile, isn’t going anywhere or so it seems. Add to that the idea that Alpine wouldn’t really want to bail out of a fierce talent like Esteban Ocon, which is why the Frenchman who clinched the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix is going to drive until the end of 2024.
So no seat for Mick at Alpine then, should the Alonso announcement come knocking on our screens in the days to com!
So in this scheme of things, where does Mick Schumacher belong?
Meanwhile, here’s what noted F1 journalist Saward had to say in his recent column that perhaps adds more substance to all the stuff which is, as of now, pure talk:
After that the French firm may wish him to move into its LMDh sports car programme. Fernando is a smart cookie and knows that dumping him would be a negative thing for Alpine.
“But with Oscar Piastri sitting uncomfortably in the wings, Fernando needs not only to perform but also to get support. He has just announced a personal sponsorship deal with Castrol, Alpine’s oil sponsor, which makes it harder for Alpine to move him on. A clever move.”