Formula 1 Italian GP
Alfa Romeo wants "clearer picture" from F2 before naming F1 line-up
Alfa Romeo boss Fred Vasseur says he is waiting for a "clear picture" from the Formula 2 championship before deciding on who fills his team's second Formula 1 seat.
Adam Cooper
Edited: Sep 9, 2021, 3:54 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The team announced Valtteri Bottas for next year on Monday and, with the announcements of George Russell at Mercedes and Alex Albon's move to Williams following that, the second Alfa seat remains the biggest question mark of the silly season.
Vasseur is no longer contractually committed to take a Ferrari Driver Academy member and, while incumbent Antonio Giovinazzi could still retain the seat, the team is keeping its options open.
The Italian is understood to still be Ferrari’s preferred option, although there have been suggestions that Mick Schumacher could be switched across from Haas.
Alpine junior Guanyu Zhou is understood to be Giovinazzi’s main competition, and has a significant budget from China behind him.
Zhou currently lies second on the F2 standings, but the series still has half its season to run, with four race weekends remaining at Monza, Sochi, Jeddah and Abu Dhabi - meaning the season's results will not be decided until December 12.
Although he didn’t name Zhou, Vasseur made it clear that he is waiting for the F2 season to develop: “The choice is important. We have some young kids that need to do more races. And we won't be able to have a clear picture before.”
Read Also:
- Williams explains decision to sign Albon over de Vries for 2022
- Why Alfa Romeo has picked Bottas to be its 2022 F1 "leader"
- Why Alex Albon is the right pick for Williams F1
Vasseur suggested early in the Zandvoort weekend that he was wary of taking a rookie due to a lack of testing, but having confirmed Bottas as his lead driver he now admits that it is a possibility.
He is keen to eventually run protege and ART driver Theo Pourchaire, but he has previously indicated that 2022 would be too early for the 18-year-old. Pourchaire currently lies sixth in the F2 championship, but could yet move up the order.
The chance for Nyck de Vries, who missed out on the Williams seat that went to Alex Albon, appears to have receded.
Théo Pourchaire, Alfa Romeo
Photo by: Alfa Romeo
“Everything is open, including Antonio,” Vasseur told Motorsport.com. “Antonio is doing a good job. But I think that to be able to recruit and to welcome Valtteri is a huge opportunity for us.
“Then it doesn't matter if the teammate is a rookie or an experienced guy, we will benefit of the experience and the speed of Valtteri.
"I won't make any comment on who is on the list and who is not. On some of them it's looks a bit difficult due to the link they have with engine suppliers.
“We have a contract with Ferrari, and it looks difficult to do these kinds of deals, or impossible. And let's see about the others.”
Vasseur suggested that Giovinazzi, who qualified seventh at Zandvoort, still has a chance to justify retaining the seat.
“I think that with Antonio, let's see over the next two or three events,” said Vasseur.
“But perhaps he has turned the page of the past, and this situation could be a good wake-up call also. I want to have a clear picture before I take any decisions with my shareholders.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Seidl: F1 needs to avoid triple-headers "completely"
Next article Steiner: "Exaggerated" Mazepin-Schumacher rivalry is not personal
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Latest news
Charles Leclerc reacts to Ferrari fear: 'We know what line not to cross'
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
20 min
Charles Leclerc reacts to Ferrari fear: 'We know what line not to cross'
Kyle Busch Remembered: Rowdy's wildest and most impressive Talladega moments
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
53 min
Kyle Busch Remembered: Rowdy's wildest and most impressive Talladega moments
Lamborghini World Finals PRO-PRO/AM Race 2: Leitch/Stasi dominate to seal title
Lamborghini Super Trofeo
LBST Lamborghini Super Trofeo
World Finals - Monza 2026
1 h
Lamborghini World Finals PRO-PRO/AM Race 2: Leitch/Stasi dominate to seal title
Toto Wolff reveals he is actively vetting “two or three people” to replace him at Mercedes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
1 h
Toto Wolff reveals he is actively vetting “two or three people” to replace him at Mercedes
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe