'My belief is that he would be a better teammate for Verstappen'

As always, there is a relatively large number of drivers who want a seat in Formula 1. But for the 2021 season, the seats are filling up. Two drivers who are both wanting a Formula 1 drive in 2021 are Sergio Perez and Mick Schumacher. They are in contact with several Formula 1 teams, but contracts have still not been signed. GPBlog.com spoke with Christian Nimmervol, editor-in-chief at the German Motorsport-Total.com, about the situation in the drivers market.

Perez will hand over his car to four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel at Racing Point in the winter. The team will be renamed Aston Martin F1 Team in 2021. Perez has drove well again this year. The Mexican is hoping that he won't have to drive for a team towards the bottom of the World Championship standings after stating that he wants something that will motivate him. 

Red Bull Racing may offer a solution, but Nimmervoll doesn't see that happening. "Knowing Helmut Marko, I can't see how Sergio Perez would ever be considered for Red Bull Racing. Because it doesn't fit their philosophy. Purely from a sporting point of view, it is my belief that he would actually be a better team-mate to Max Verstappen than Alexander Albon is - just like Nico Hulkenberg," said Nimmervoll. 

Verstappen would benefit from Perez's experience

Perez has plenty of experiance with almost ten full seasons behind him. That could be very helpful for Red Bull who are currently lacking experiance with Albon. "Perez' is a rock solid driver, has a lot of experience and can contribute to work on set-up and development with years of experience he has gained. Something which is also important for Max," he continues. 

The German journalist points to the situation of a year and a half ago when Albon had already signed a contract with Nissan in Formula E. "The dream of an F1 career was dead, and bang, within a very short timeframe he is in one of the top F1 cars alongside the in my view fastest driver on the grid and is expected to deliver. This is probably the hardest task there is, and to be asked to do it with so little experience is a really tough one. I am sure if he had a few more years of experience his talent would shine through much better."

Interest in Germany is declining

Germany was always very well represented in Formula 1. In 2016, for example, four Germans drove with Vettel, Nico Hulkenberg, Pascal Wehrlein and Nico Rosberg on the grid. This year, Vettel is the last German driver remaining in the F1 paddock. It also explains why Formula 1 will soon no longer be broadcast on the open network of RTL. Interest in Germany is not what it used to be.

"I believe it is quite common for sports hypes in countries to create a mega buzz with the first successful athlete in a certain discipline, and after that it ebbs down. Just like Germany has experienced with Tennis after the Boris Becker & Steffi Graf hype. My strong belief is for a new hype to develop, Germany would need at least ten years without a driver and a race, and when someone then comes back, the euphoria will be huge," he adds. 

Is Schumacher creating new hype?

Perhaps the arrival of Schumacher will help. “The only chance to recreate some of the earlier hype is of course Mick Schumacher. If he does well and beats his team-mate on his way to future glory, the following will be huge. If Mick fails to impress, however, I believe the sensation will ebb down after a few races. We will see," he says. 

The son of Michael Schumacher is climbing the ranks quickly. Will the young German drive at Alfa Romeo or Haas F1? Both teams seem to have a place left. "If Mick wins the F2 championship, which is very likely by now, he will certainly race in F1 in 2021 since he would not be allowed to continue in F2. I believe Ferrari will chose Alfa over Haas for him, but that is only my suspicion. And of course he will need to do a solid job at the Nurburgring FP1. If he manages to do that, which he is certainly capable of, I see no reason why he would not race in F1 next year," concludes Nimmervoll.

Thanks to Christian Nimmervoll
- Twitter - Christian Nimmervoll
- Facebook - Christian Nimmervoll