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Alpine: "Underestimated" Schumacher joining WEC LMDh team too good to pass up
Bruno Famin, the vice president of motorsport at the Renault brand, revealed that the deal to have Mick Schumacher race the new Alpine A242 LMDh prototype in 2024 was already in progress before his try-out in the car at Jerez in October. Famin emphasized the opportunity to have such a talented and successful driver on the team and believes that Schumacher’s skills are often underestimated. Schumacher, who is still a Mercedes reserve driver, will bring valuable experience and ideas to the Alpine Endurance Team. The brief run at Jerez was to see if Schumacher liked the car and if he would be happy to join the team for a full program. Famin stated that the driver selection process was not conducted as an industrial process, but rather a manual and human process focused on the drivers’ mindset and ability to work together as a team. Schumacher’s ongoing F1 contract allows him to fill in for either Lewis Hamilton or George Russell if needed. Alpine will announce a reserve driver at a later date and the combinations in each of the two cars will be announced in February.
