Mick Schumacher’s Formula 1 career is in turmoil, after it was revealed that the German’s contract with the Ferrari Driver Academy will come to a ‘natural end’ at the end of the season.
To add to the 23-year-old’s woes, it is all but certain that he won’t be retained by the Haas F1 Team for 2023, leaving Schumacher with just two realistic options.
If Schumacher isn’t signed by the Alpine F1 Team or Williams Racing, then the German driver will be looking for a seat in a different championship, after the German fell behind IndyCar driver Colton Herta in the running for a potentially vacant seat at Scuderia AlphaTauri.
The Haas driver is being backed by current Alpine driver Esteban Ocon to move to the French side, to form what could be an exciting young line-up.
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Haas hasn’t officially said that they won’t be resigning Schumacher; however, many in the paddock have come to the understanding that the German won’t be with the American team next year.
He is set to be replaced by former Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi, who will actually be taking part in two FP1 sessions for the team.
Losing Schumacher would be a great loss to Formula 1, not only with the Haas driver being the 2020 F2 World Champion, but also for being the son of seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher.
Many still believe he’ll be in the paddock next season; however, if he isn’t then it could see a grid without a representative from Germany, unless Alpine sign Nico Hulkenberg.
Schumacher has only been able to talk to other non-Ferrari related teams due to his FDA contract not being extended, making him a free agent.
The German joined the FDA in 2019, following on from winning the 2018 European F3 Championship, joining the talented likes of Callum Ilott, Marcus Armstrong, Robert Shwartzman and Enzo Fittipaldi.
It was questioned if it had been done purely because of his surname; however, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto insisted that he’d been signed due to his “talent”.
“For someone like me who has known him from birth, there’s no doubt that welcoming Mick into Ferrari has a special emotional meaning, but we have chosen him for his talent and the human and professional qualities that have already distinguished him despite his young age,” Binotto said at the time.
The young German went onto drive an F1 car for the first time in April 2019, where he drove for both Ferrari and Alfa Romeo at Bahrain.
He spent 2019 and 2020 racing for the highly successful Prema F2 Team, whilst receiving support from Ferrari.
After winning the series in 2020, he was signed by Haas and has remained with the side since, with his best result having come this season in Austria where he finished sixth.
Tensions have been building between Schumacher and the team, especially with team principal Guenther Steiner.
The Haas boss spoke negatively in public about Schumacher after he crashed very heavily for the second time this season in Monaco.
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The German crashed heavily in Saudi Arabia and then in Monaco, resulting in his car splitting in half on both occasions.
Mistakes have seen his links with a potential seat with Ferrari in the future diminish, especially with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz under multi-year contracts.
The coming weeks will hopefully give some answers as to where we might see Schumacher next season, whether that be in F1 or somewhere else.