Alfa Romeo to announce Schumacher for 2021 race seat

Formula 1 is abuzz with rumours that Mick Schumacher’s 2021 Formula 1 race debut will be confirmed this weekend at the Nurburgring.

The 21-year-old Formula 2 series leader is already making his free practice debut for Alfa Romeo on Friday, at the wheel of Antonio Giovinazzi’s car.

The official fan club of Mick’s famous father Michael Schumacher is excited.

"If it’s true that Mick will race in Formula 1 next year, it will be golden times for us again," fan club chairman Reiner Ferling told RTL.

For the moment, Schumacher is simply hoping it doesn’t rain at the chilly Nurburgring.

"Hopefully it won’t be so wet that we can’t go out at all," he said. "Otherwise there will be more waiting."

Schumacher said he knows it is an important week for him.

"Of course I have respect for the whole thing," he told the broadcaster NTV. "It is the first time I have been in front of the big eyes - all of the team bosses, all of the CEOs, all of the teams."

In Germany and also Switzerland - where Alfa Romeo is based - authoritative media sources are converging on the opinion that confirmation of a 2021 race deal for Schumacher is due this weekend.

Kimi Raikkonen is expected to be his teammate.

"I’ve known Mick since he was born," Jean Todt, the FIA president who was once Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari team boss and close friend, told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"He has had a good season. He has a very important name, but the name can perhaps open some doors but it doesn’t drive the car or have the success that he is having."

Earlier, Schumacher’s manager Sabine Kehm credited Mick’s mother - Michael Schumacher’s wife Corinna - for the leading role she has played in her son’s rise to F1.

"Corinna is a person who is very dear to me," Todt said. "You really understand people in difficult times and she has been through a lot, but she behaved in a fantastic way."