Mick Schumacher has little chance of a Formula 1 cockpit next season. Mercedes’ reserve driver will probably switch to another racing series. A return to the premier class of motorsport is becoming increasingly unlikely.
Almost all doors are closed: The prospects for Mick Schumacher of returning to a Formula 1 cockpit for the 2024 season are visibly dwindling. After being kicked out of the US team Haas at the end of the 2022 season, for which he drove for two years, Michael Schumacher’s son has been working as a substitute driver at Mercedes this year. Since then, team boss Toto Wolff has held a protective hand over the son of the record world champion. Schumacher is “part of the family,” Wolff recently assured. After all, father Michael spent the last three years of his career driving a Silver Arrow. Wolff emphasized that his son will always have a “home base” at Mercedes.
However, Schumacher can avoid a place as a regular driver at Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have just extended their contracts until 2025. Until recently, it was rumored that Schumacher had legitimate hope of getting a cockpit with two teams: Alfa Romeo and Williams. But the doors are slowly closing. Sauber, which currently operates under the name Alfa Romeo, has decided to continue to rely on the Chinese Zhou Guanyu.
Sporting competition is great
Zhou, who improved in his second season, has one advantage over Schumacher: his origins. Formula 1 returns to the Shanghai Grand Prix in 2024. China is a huge market for the Alfa Romeo brand and is easier to conquer with a Chinese Formula 1 driver as an advertising medium. The same applies to the owner of Formula 1, the US company Liberty Media. It is also vying for Chinese favor. A Chinese driver is of course wanted to make Formula 1 more popular. Zhou is also bringing a financially strong sponsorship package with him to the Swiss racing team, which will be completely taken over by Audi in 2026. Until then, Sauber/Alfa Romeo can make good use of the financially strong dowry.
Added to this is the sporting competition. Numerous young drivers are pushing their way up. The Brazilian Felipe Drugovich, for example, who, like Schumacher, is also world champion in the Formula 2 junior series, is said to have been more popular with Alfa Romeo.
Schumacher’s chances of getting a permanent position as a regular driver at Williams were even greater. The British racing team has been languishing at the bottom of the racing circuit for years as one of the financially weakest teams. The American Logan Sargeant, who has been driving for the British team alongside the highly talented Alexander Albon this year, is visibly overwhelmed. He makes a mistake almost every race weekend. Most recently in Singapore, Sargeant broke his front wing on the undulating street circuit.
Alpine wants Schumacher for its endurance team
In terms of sport, Williams would actually have to rely on a different driver. Schumacher would be ideal as Albon’s teammate. But Sargeant has the same advantage as the Chinese Zhou: He apparently brings more sponsorship money and is the only US driver important for the US market. This means that Schumacher’s chances are almost zero.
So where does the young Schumacher’s path lead if the remaining hope of Williams is eliminated? He can hardly afford another year without racing experience. Most recently, the French team Alpine confirmed that it was in talks with Schumacher. The French are interested in signing him and want to win Schumacher for their WEC (long distance) team. This would mean that Schumacher would take part in one of the most famous races in the world: the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Mercedes boss Wolff has already announced that Schumacher could remain a reserve driver at Mercedes despite a job at Alpine.
That would be important in order to stay in conversation and close. The protection from Mercedes is Schumacher’s only bargaining chip. He also learns the organization and working methods of a leading Formula 1 team from scratch. At European races he also works for Mercedes as a simulation driver to improve the racing car setups. When he travels to the Grands Prix, he carries out marketing tasks and takes part in the driver briefings. So he continues to be a part of Formula 1, even if he is mostly condemned to watching. The fact that he has only been in a real racing car twice this year, once in the Mercedes and once in the McLaren (whose replacement driver pool he is also part of) is the fate of a reservist who is waiting for a second chance.
Sources: “”, “”, “”, “”. DPA
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
