The next wave of F1 drivers is coming and it’s more than just Mick Schumacher

Last Sunday morning before the F1 Grand Prix of Russia in Sochi (Russia) the focus was mainly on Formula 2 and a massive crash between Luca Ghiotto and Jack Aitken that resulted in the race because of damaging the barriers in Sochi Excitement has stopped Turn 3.

The two drivers touched under full load through the long, long curve and both drove off at high speed. Ghiotto hit several Tecpro plastic barriers and destroyed them before the car caught fire. Aitken hit the heavy-duty plastic barriers at a point where two joined together. He paced between them and landed between two rows of barriers. Nobody was injured, but fire is so rare in the world of formula racing these days that it caught attention.

It was a pretty impressive season in Formula 2 for other reasons, with a number of very good young drivers competing against each other. How good they will ultimately be in Formula 1 remains to be seen, but at least three of them will try out F1 cars in practice before the season ends.

Here are some names to know:

Mick Schumacher leads the F2 points classification with one remaining race weekend in the Formula 2 season.

Joe Portlock – Formula 1Getty Images

MICK SCHUMACHER

Championship leader Mick Schumacher, the 21-year-old son of seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher, has a name that resonates outside of motorsport. He could lead a revival of interest in F1 in Germany, where fans never hugged Sebastian Vettel or Mercedes Benz as much as Michael.

Mick Schumacher is the Ferrari Academy driver and it is said that next year he will probably drive the second Alfa Romeo F1 alongside Kimi Raikkonen at the expense of Antonio Giovinazzi. As part of the Ferrari engine business with Alfa Romeo (yes, industrially it makes little sense, but it is really no stranger than Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda) Ferrari is allowed to nominate one of the drivers at Sauber, while Alfa Romeo only pours in a lot of money, to get the team name.

The deals are all holdover from Sergio Marchionne’s days, and it will be interesting to see if they continue in late 2021 when the current deal ends. By that time, Alfa Romeo will have become a brand of the new Stellantis company. This is the merged Peugeot of the Fiat Chrysler Group. This will be under the control of Carlos Tavares, who was the man who made Alpine possible when he was at Renault and who is a firm believer in using motorsport to boost automotive companies.

The new group will have a brand portfolio that includes Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram and Vauxhall and it will be fascinating to see if Tavares continues to work for a stake decides what is an unsuccessful F1 sponsorship or whether it chooses to use a different brand or do nothing at all? We only know that Peugeot is used for Le Mans and DS in Formula E.

Ferrari will likely nominate Schumacher for the Alfa Romeo seat, and that means Kimi Raikkonen will likely keep for another year to coach Schumacher and give the team some stability. It doesn’t do as bad a job as it did this year when Alfa Romeo occasionally beat Ferrari, though it really is because Ferrari does so badly.

Callum Ilott is second in the F2 drivers’ standings.

Joe Portlock – Formula 1Getty Images

CALLUM ILOTT

Another Formula 2 Championship participant, Callum Ilott, a British driver, will be seen in a Haas at the upcoming Eifel Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, and that’s a pretty clear sign that Haas is thinking of at least one change, but maybe even two of its drivers next year.

Ilott is also a Ferrari Academy driver and Haas uses Ferrari engines (for the time being). However, there is also the possibility that a third Ferrari Academy driver, Russian Robert Shwartzman, will find a place in Haas next year. This could be helpful for Formula 1 as it is becoming more and more likely that the Japanese Yuki Tsunoda, who drives a Red Bull car in Formula 2 and is also a championship candidate, will receive a super license this year and Honda and Red Bull he will be used by the second AlphaTauri alongside Pierre Gasly. This means that Dany Kvyat may no longer drive.

Nikita Mazepin has the money and the skills to move into F1.

Dan Istitene – Formula 1Getty Images

NIKITA MAZEPINE

Another fast F2 driver is Nikita Mazepin, son of billionaire Dimity Mazepine. The elder Mazepin has been trying to buy an F1 team for the past few years so his son can be in F1 (along the lines of the Stroll family). He is believed to have been in the race for the Williams team earlier this summer.

Nikita Mazepin is currently sixth in the F2 points classification.

Guanyu Zhou is eighth in F2 and is well on his way to the F1 grid.

Dan Istitene – Formula 1Getty Images

GUANYU ZHOU

The other name to look out for is Guanyu Zhou from China. He was given victory –His first in Formula 2 – after the fall of Aitken-Ghiotto, but he is seen as an important figure by many in F1 as he would be the first Chinese F1 driver to want the required pace – and would be the F1 love to have a chinese driver.