Mick Schumacher’s natural talent and potential is something that cannot be doubted by anyone in the paddock, with the German putting on a stunning show at the Red Bull Ring last year for example.
The problem for a smaller team such as Haas however, is that mistakes are costly, and Schumacher reportedly cost the team over €3m in damages last year alone.
The 23-year-old’s inconsistency led to Haas replacing Schumacher with Nico Hulkenberg for 2023, and luckily for the youngster, there was a vacancy waiting to be filled at Mercedes.
Nyck de Vries shocked the F1 world with a stunning performance in Monza last season when he stood in for the ill Alex Albon at very short notice, scoring points and obliterating his temporary teammate Nicholas Latifi in an uncompetitive Williams.
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This performance suddenly made the Formula 2 and Formula E champion hot property, with De Vries eventually signing for Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri from Mercedes, as the team did not want to stand in the way of their reserve driver’s F1 dream.
With Schumacher replacing De Vries as Mercedes’ third driver this year, team principal Toto Wolff has suggested that the German could follow a similar path to his predecessor, using his experiences with the Silver Arrows to secure a race seat.
“The most important factor is his personality,” Wolff told RacingNews365.com.
“He’s a well educated, intelligent and talented young man. You [can] see that his junior career track record was very good, and I believe if we can give him a safe environment to further develop, he can be a good racing driver in a permanent seat in the future.
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“In the same way we have let Nyck de Vries go in order for him to achieve a career, that could be something that could happen to Mick, whether it is in our team or letting him go somewhere else, we don’t know at [this] stage.”
It has been rumoured that Audi will attempt to sign Schumacher in 2026 when they complete their takeover of Sauber, as a German driver would do wonders for sponsorship deals for the German car manufacturers.
Schumacher was urged to forget about F1 by Bernie Ecclestone, but the 23-year-old has stood strong, claiming that despite his Haas sacking, he belongs in the sport and will do everything he can to regain a race seat.