Alfa Romeo will not give Mick Schumacher track time in their 2020 car next season, team boss Fred Vasseur claims.
The stars are expected to align for the Ferrari junior to drive for the Swiss team in 2021 and Mick would drive the C38 during the in-season test in Bahrain back in April.
However, with only six days of pre-season testing ahead of the first race in Australia and no official tests until after the season finale in Abu Dhabi, there simply isn’t the opportunity to give Schumacher more F1 experience.
“There will be no additional tests next year,” Vasseur told Swiss publication Blick.
“First of all, Mick has to win Formula 2 or perform well but that is incredibly difficult under his conditions and the pressure.”
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The French team boss did confirm though that Schumacher is on the team’s radar.
“Along with Ferrari, we are following his path and his progress,” Vasseur added.
If Schumacher is to make the jump to F1 for 2021 it is thought that would come at the expense of Antonio Giovinazzi, who took Ferrari’s allocated seat after Charles Leclerc was promoted for 2019.
The Italian though struggled in his first full season of racing since 2016 and the Alfa chief explained the decision to wait longer than most to confirm him for next year.
“10 years ago, teams waited until February to announce their drivers,” Vasseur argued. “We were never in a hurry, so we were able to keep the pressure on the team and on Antonio.”
As for how he rated Giovinazzi’s year: “I have to answer with a glass half full and half empty,” he added in what wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement.