Kevin Magnussen’s partner at Haas next year has been a topic of discussion for over a month now, with Mick Schumacher now looking like he will be without a race seat next year.
Team owner Gene Haas has previously labelled the German too expensive for the team to keep, with a series of high profile crashes, including snapping the car clean in half in Monaco, costing the team millions of pounds that they do not have.
It looks most likely that Nico Hulkenberg will be returning to the grid next year, taking Schumacher’s seat at Haas, after leaving his role as Aston Martin reserve driver recently.
Former F1 chairman Bernie Ecclestone has suggested that moving away from Formula 1 might be the best path for the young German, with his surname weighing him down due the reputation it brings with it.
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“Maybe he needs to forget F1 and focus on the other motorsports series. His name is his biggest burden, but he is trying to live up to it as best he can. And that’s what bring him all the problems. That’s why: Forget about it and win in another category,” he said.
The Englishman has said that he believes Haas’ mind is already made up, with Schumacher’s performances not living up to the expectations of his bosses.
“I don’t think he is in,” he stated.
“People were disappointed with his performance – whether it was down to him or the team, we don’t know.”
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It has been rumoured in recent weeks that if Schumacher can keep his F1 flame alive until 2026, the opportunity for Audi to take on a German driver might be too good to turn down due to the sponsorship offers a home driver can bring,
Schumacher has been unlucky since the point scoring ultimatum was made a few weeks ago, picking up damage in Austin that cost him a top ten finish, and then a corner cutting mistake in Mexico saw him eliminated in Q1 despite showing good pace.
While a formal announcement for Haas’ second driver for 2023 is yet to come, Hulkenberg has reportedly stepped up his training program in anticipation of a return to the grid, also telling reporters that negotiations are underway and looking positive, putting another nail in the coffin of Mick Schumacher’s F1 career.