F1 News
Ferrari director: "We will be trying very hard to give them that chance"
- GPblog.com
Mick Schumacher and Callum Ilott were supposed to make their debut at the Eifel Grand Prix during the first free practice session in Formula 1. Unfortunately, due to the thick fog at the Nurburgring, they didn't get their show on the big stage. The two may now have to wait until the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi to make their debut.
No chance in Germany
It was set to be a momentous weekend for Schumacher and Ilott, but it ended in a reasonable disappointment. Schumacher was meant to drive the Alfa Romeo in the first free practice and Ilott was in the Haas. Due to the dense fog, however, FP1 never started and neither of them got their chance.
According to Ferrari's Sports Director Laurent Mekies, who leads the Young Driver Academy, it is not fair to Alfa Romeo and Haas to put their own drivers aside for that time. Nor would it make sense to have the drivers train during the final weekends of the Formula 2 championship.
New tracks
"With new tracks, nobody has been there. We try to be fair and reasonable with our partners, and I don’t think it will be [fair] to run them on completely new tracks, where nobody has any data," said Mekies about Schumacher and Ilott according to Motorsport.com.
"And because they are going to race in Bahrain, we don’t want to disturb them as they are fighting for the title. So the only chance is Abu Dhabi. We’ll be discussing with both Alfa Romeo and Haas to see what is possible. Whether or not it will be possible remains to be seen, but we will be trying very hard to give them that chance," Mekies concluded.