Schumacher on shortlist for Alfa Romeo F1 test

Mick Schumacher has been added to Alfa Romeo’s Formula 1 test shortlist for the young driver test later this year, team principal Frederic Vasseur has confirmed.

The 19-year-old driver makes his Formula 2 debut this year with Prema and recently joined the Ferrari Driver Academy which holds close ties to Alfa Romeo through its technical partnership.

F1 hosts two in-season tests, this year taking place after the Bahrain and Spanish races, with rules enforcing teams to use a driver who has competed in two or fewer Grands Prix for two of the total four days of testing.

Alfa Romeo’s current reserve driver Marcus Ericsson, who has 97 F1 starts to his name, is clearly above the requirements which leaves the team searching for a young driver to fill the role later this season.

“There is a shortlist and Mick is part of the shortlist because he is one of the guys in F2 who fits the criteria to be eligible for the rookie test – the choice is quite limited,” Alfa Romeo boss Vasseur told Formula1.com. “But we have not made a decision yet.

“There are several names on the list. We will continue to evaluate the options available and discuss with Ferrari.”

Vasseur also speculated the young driver test could take place in Bahrain if the team’s planned updates are not ready for the first test or it could split its programmes.

“The first priority is to know when we will introduce big updates,” he explained. “If we’re not ready for big updates in Bahrain, we can do the rookie tests and do proper tests with current drivers in Barcelona. Or we could split and do one at one test and one at the other. It’s a technical decision.”

Schumacher is hoping to follow in the footsteps of his father Michael who claimed seven Formula 1 world titles and 91 race wins across his career.