Ex-Haas crew boss Guenther Steiner wouldn’t advocate his former driver Mick Schumacher as a candidate to fill Esteban Ocon’s upcoming vacant seat at Alpine.
The French outfit faces a driver shakeup for the 2025 season following its determination to separate with Ocon, a transfer that opens the door for brand new expertise to associate Pierre Gasly.
A number of drivers are within the combine, with Alpine junior Jack Doohan a possible choice to step up, however F1 veteran Valtteri Bottas has additionally been rumored to be a goal for the Enstone squad.
However Schumacher, who presently competes within the World Endurance Championship for Alpine’s Hypercar crew, has additionally been cited as a possible contender to take over Ocon’s drive.
Nevertheless, it’s an choice that Steiner wouldn’t advocate, believing there are higher candidates – reminiscent of Carlos Sainz and Yuki Tsunoda – for Alpine to contemplate.
“Within the second not, no. You could get the perfect driver you already know is on the market, I feel folks that are displaying that they’re excellent,” he mentioned, talking on the Pink Flags podcast.
“And as a works crew, that you must do the perfect you may.”
Steiner advised that the dangerous blood that undermined the connection between Ocon and Gasly of their junior years in motorsport was maybe a bit too simply dismissed by Alpine.
Whereas Ocon’s transfer on Gasly within the Monaco Grand Prix was maybe legit, although it ended badly, the previous ought to have kept away from taking such a threat in opposition to his personal teammate.
“Clearly you concentrate on it, completely you concentrate on it, as a result of it’s simply one thing you don’t need,” added Steiner, commenting on the maneuver.
“And I at all times say, team-mates don’t have to be the perfect associates, they don’t must exit for dinner, however they should respect one another.
“As a result of in the long run, but it surely’s usually in life, that you must respect different folks.
“Should you don’t prefer to drive with this man in your crew, simply go elsewhere. If I don’t prefer to be someplace, I transfer on. I’m not attempting to combat it at the price of someone else, which is the crew.
“So one among them ought to have mentioned, ‘I can’t be within the crew with this different man’, and someone else possibly ought to have seen that.
“All people is aware of in regards to the historical past of the 2 of them and even their dad and mom apparently, they needed to hold them aside.
“That’s not what you need whenever you’re going, ‘Oh, we will probably be teammates, yeah it’s all good, we simply fought the final 20 years, however now that’s all good’, you already know?”
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