AlphaTauri snubbed Mick Schumacher because Helmut Marko has personal problem with the surname, claims Ralf Schumacher

Ralf Schumacher believes Helmut Marko has a problem with the Schumacher family.

AlphaTauri snubbed Mick Schumacher because Helmut Marko has personal problem with the surname, claims Ralf Schumacher

Mick Schumacher (Image via Autobild.de) Dr. Helmut Marko (Image via Planetsport.com) Ralf Schumacher (Image via Racingnews365.com)

F1 team Red Bull Racing are currently looking over their options to replace Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri if the Dutchman fails to improve his results. The energy drinks giant signed the Formula E champion earlier this year after failing to sign the American driver Colton Herta. Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher believes Mick Schumacher would’ve been the ideal pick if not for Helmut Marko ruling out the German driver.

Ralf insisted that AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost did not want to sign a rookie driver as it takes some time for new drivers to get up to speed in F1. Mick was available for the 2023 season after Haas decided not to continue with the German. However, the 47-year-old believes that Helmut Marko decided to not opt for the former Haas driver. He said, “Dr. Helmut Marko came along and, for personal reasons or whatever it may be, didn’t want that.”

https://youtube.com/watch?v=2BTswubpWhw

The former Toyota driver is convinced that Dr. Marko is not on good terms with the Schumacher family. Although the 47-year-old couldn’t cite the reason. Ralf said, “It seems that Helmut Marko has a problem with the Schumacher name”. Schumacher mentioned being on good terms with the Red Bull advisor, this further perplexed the 47-year-old.

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Ralf Schumacher “surprised” by Helmut Marko’s decision

Ralf Schumacher and Dr. Helmut Marko, image via F1i.com
Ralf Schumacher and Dr. Helmut Marko (Image via F1i.com)

Schumacher is convinced that Mick would be the ideal driver for the Red Bull sister team. The 24-year-old spent two seasons at Haas and tried to get to grips with the pinnacle of motorsport. The 47-year-old failed to understand why Marko had written off the German driver completely. Ralf Schumacher said, “That’s why I’m surprised by what Dr. Helmut Marko is doing.”

Mick Schumacher has had some issues in his two seasons in F1. The German driver became infamous for his crashes that soured relations between the 24-year-old and Haas boss Gunther Steiner. For the 2023 season, Mick has switched to a reserve driver role at Mercedes after leaving the Ferrari driver academy as well.

Thus, Ralf Schumacher has made it clear that he believes Dr. Helmut Marko is not happy with the Schumacher family. The 47-year-old insists that there is some issue in the background which made Marko ditch Mick for the AlphaTauri driver. It will be interesting to see if these comments spark a war of words in the coming days.

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