Fresh reports have indicated that Mick Schumacher’s deal with Ferrari has not been cut just yet.
On Tuesday, Motorsport.com reported that the 23-year-old, who had joined the Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA) in 2019, was set to cut ties at the end of the season.
Schumacher won the 2020 Formula 2 title while under Ferrari’s tutorship and his relationship with his father’s former team has resulted in one or two test sessions with the Scuderia.
The German joined the Formula 1 paddock last season when he became part of the Haas team alongside Nikita Mazepin, but the American side spent the whole season at the back of the grid as they prepared for the new technical regulations.
READ: Mick Schumacher’s future: Joining Alpine would be ‘ideal for him’
Mazepin was replaced by the returning Kevin Magnussen amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and the Dane has scored points on four occasions this season.
It took Schumacher until the 10th round of the season to score his first points at the British Grand Prix, after two major crashes in Jeddah and Monaco.
However, the former F2 champion has looked a completely different driver since the Canadian Grand Prix, further evidenced by his strong performance in Spielberg as he took sixth.
However, this has not yet been enough to secure him a seat at Haas beyond the end of this season, and Haas’ own relationship with Ferrari likely means that they would like to have a Ferrari-affiliated driver in the Haas car.
This could result in Schumacher leaving Haas at the end of this season, particularly if his links to the Maranello-based team disappear.
Felix Gorner, a reporter with German broadcaster RTL, suggests that Ferrari have not dismissed Schumacher yet.
“He has been part of this program since 2019, now he has to make a new decision with Ferrari – do we continue?” he said.
READ: Haas open to replacing Mick Schumacher with Daniel Ricciardo or Nico Hulkenberg
“But no decision has been made yet.”
Schumacher will have other options available to him at the end of the season, with the driver line-ups of Alpine, AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo and Williams yet to be decided.
There is technically still a seat open at McLaren, but Oscar Piastri is widely expected to replace Daniel Ricciardo when the 33-year-old departs at the end of 2022.