Alfa Romeo open to completely new driver line-up for F1 2022 | F1

The current drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi are without a contract at the end of the season.

At the age of 41, Raikkonen’s performance continued to decline, as the 2007 world champion was unable to advance from Q1 in the last four consecutive races.

Giovinazzi has enjoyed a strong season, especially qualifying, but Alfa may decide to switch it over for 2022.

Should Mercedes drop Valtteri Bottas, he could be a potential option for the Swiss team, while Vasseur is a huge admirer of Nico Hulkenberg, who continues to sit on the sidelines as Aston Martin’s substitute driver.

On the subject of matching items

Given the longstanding relationship with Ferrari, the young drivers could prove to be exciting options with Callum Ilott or Robert Shwartzman – who ranks second in the Formula 2 rankings – as potential choices.

Ahead of the UK Grand Prix this weekend, Vasseur said continuity was not a necessity for next year.

On the subject of matching items

“It could be a point, but it’s not necessary,” said Vasseur. “You can say that it is always good to have a kind of continuity in the team because you at least have a reference and can compare yourself to the feeling of the previous year. We will see. We will make the choice when the time is right. We could keep the same line-up or we could change. Everything is open.

“And I think it’s also very pleasant for the team to have everything open. It’s good for Antonio and it’s good for Kimi. I don’t feel that being under pressure is inherently bad. We need pressure to perform. And I don’t want to live in a simple world. “

Vasseur confirmed that Giovinazzi is in the running for next year but he would like to see further improvements, especially on race day.

“He’s definitely on the list, he’s part of the family, he’s getting better,” added Vasseur. And he’ll be high on the list next year. Now I want to see more improvements and more results in the race.

“Everyone is under pressure. I’m under pressure, the engineers are under pressure, the drivers, they have to be under pressure. It’s a world of pressure. “

Vasseur says Raikkonen’s future with the team is an “open discussion” and the top teams who make decisions about their lineups will have an impact on teams like Alfa Romeo.

“I think it’s good for us to keep everyone under pressure,” said Vasseur. “And we’ll see how the market develops.

“The system will occupy the seats at the top. That means that Mercedes has to make a decision and then Red Bull has to make a decision and like dominoes we will have some chances on the table at some point and we will make a decision at this stage. “