Ralf Schumacher names Ferrari’s ‘dream’ Lewis Hamilton replacement who could hinder Oscar Piastri’s plans

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Oscar Piastri is unhappy with his current situation at McLaren, and Ferrari could offer him a lifeline if Lewis Hamilton decides to call it quits. However, Ralf Schumacher has named a ‘dream’ signing for the Scuderia, who could scupper the Australian’s move.

Oscar Piastri’s championship challenge has unravelled since the resumption of racing after the summer break.

The 24-year-old has been on the wrong end of a 58-point swing in favour of his McLaren counterpart Lando Norris, who currently leads the F1 standings by 24 points.

It’s clear to see that Piastri’s confidence has taken a hit through the various uncharacteristic mistakes that he has made in recent race weekends, and a move away from Woking may be on the cards for him.

Ferrari have been linked with Piastri amid their driver line-up conundrum and the Australian’s restlessness, but that could be scuppered if the iconic Italian racing outfit are successful in realising their dream signing.

READ MORE: Oscar Piastri’s McLaren escape route is ‘crystal clear’ if he decides to switch Formula 1 teams

Ralf Schumacher says Kimi Antonelli would be Ferrari’s ‘dream’ signing, over the more experienced Oscar Piastri

On a recent episode of the Backstage Boxengasse podcast, Ralf Schumacher and Peter Hardenacke were discussing possible replacements for Lewis Hamilton.

The latter suggested Oliver Bearman as the ‘sympathetic choice’ for the Scuderia, before asking the former whether Piastri could be a potential candidate following the frustrations he has felt within McLaren during his title fight this season.

Schumacher said, “I suspect it a little bit. I mean, this is no coincidence. And also the lack of clarification, given that this conflict in the team almost gives the feeling of being intentionally provoked, indicates that two teams are currently looking for new drivers. One is green, the other is red.”

The former F1 driver went on to highlight how the Australian driver should be Ferrari’s number one target, whilst noting Kimi Antonelli as the Italian constructor’s ‘dream’ signing, due to his nationality.

He continued with, “If I want someone today who has experience, who can win races, who is competing for the championship, that is Oscar Piastri.

“So from that perspective, such a team is, of course, an incredible future team. I mean, Antonelli is unfortunately not available. He is with Mercedes. That would probably be the dream. For the Ferrarista and also for Elkann.”

Like most aspiring racing drivers from Italy, Antonelli has been a Ferrari fan since his youth, but previously detailed how he didn’t think twice about accepting a Mercedes offer following a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ phone call with Toto Wolff in 2017.

The 19-year-old’s loyalty to the team that backed him from the very beginning threatens to pose an extra layer of difficulty to Ferrari if they do, in fact, wish to bring him to Maranello.

READ MORE: F1 fans all make the same ‘nonsense’ claim as Kimi Antonelli breaks Lewis Hamilton’s rookie record

Ralf Schumacher also highlighted how Kimi Antonelli benefited from his father not being at the Brazilian GP

At the beginning of the season, Antonelli’s father made it clear that he would be present at every one of his son’s races during his maiden season in F1 with Mercedes.

However, due to other racing commitments, Antonelli Sr was unable to join the Mercedes driver in the Interlagos paddock for the most recent round of racing, where he secured his career-best result of a P2 in Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Asked if the lack of presence of his father is a move that shows the youngster is trying to detach himself as he matures within the paddock, Schumacher replied, “You know my attitude, I always find it better when the son goes off alone with his supervisor, with his physiotherapist.

“At some point, his girlfriend will probably join as well, which is also okay. And he gains experience on his own and focuses on that. And the interesting part was the aside from Toto Wolff.

“I believe it was quite good that Kimi spent a lot of time with his engineers this weekend. Sure, he is then alone; he doesn’t go out to dinner with the family in the evening, so he has nothing to do and prefers to stay in the paddock.

“He is there and simply stays longer, engages with the data. That can, of course, also be helpful.”

Jacques Villeneuve has questioned the presence of Antonelli’s dad within the Mercedes garage in the past, highlighting his impression that the 19-year-old’s father was more involved with him over the course of race weekends than engineers from the Brackley-based team.