Schumacher: A new chapter beginning for me with Alpine

Alpine announced on Wednesday that 24-year-old German Schumacher, as one of six drivers competing for them in two A424 Hypercars. He will join French drivers Nicolas Lapierre, Matthieu Vaxiviere, Charles Milesi and Paul-Loup Chatin as well as Austrian Ferdinand Habsburg.

Mercedes confirmed separately that the German, who raced for Haas in Formula 1 in 2021 and 2022, would continue as their reserve.

Schumacher said: "A new chapter is beginning for me with Alpine. I've grown up with single-seaters so driving a car with a closed cockpit and covered wheels is a great opportunity to hone my driving skills.

"I sorely missed racing this year. It's what I've loved to do since I was a kid and it was sometimes difficult to watch the other drivers take to the track," added the son on F1 legend Michael Schumacher.

Alpine said the crew line-up for the two cars would be announced on 7 February. The season, whose highlight is the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, starts in Qatar in March.

Williams are the only team left in Formula 1 still with a potential vacancy for the 2024 season, and clearly young Schumacher was not on the shortlist.