Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has confirmed that reserve driver Mick Schumacher will replace either George Russell or Lewis Hamilton, should one of the drivers be unable to compete at a Grand Prix this season.
Schumacher moved to Mercedes for the 2023 season following his departure from Haas, which came after the Americans opted against giving him a contract extension.
With there having been no seats on the grid, Schumacher joined Mercedes as their reserve driver, replacing Nyck de Vries who he competed with for Pierre Gasly’s vacant AlphaTauri seat.
Wolff worked very hard to sign the German, who he rates as a “successful and experienced” F1 star.
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The Austrian recognises Schumacher’s talents and believes other teams are “missing out” on the son of Michael Schumacher, who is targeting a return to the grid in 2024.
Wolff is clearly keen to retain Schumacher as their reserve driver, given how well he’s already been working with the Silver Arrows.
“I think whoever wants him would get a good driver,” Wolff said, as reported by the Express.co.uk.
“But, ultimately, the other teams have to decide for themselves which drivers they want. I can’t tell the teams we have contracts with to take our reserve driver. But yes, I think they’re missing out on something.”
Schumacher received significant praise from Wolff, Hamilton and Russell after the Spanish Grand Prix, where the Silver Arrows claimed their first double podium since the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Mercedes made a poor start to the recent Spanish GP, which resulted in Schumacher completing a late simulator session at the team’s base in Brackley.
The data Schumacher gathered ultimately saved the team’s weekend, as they suddenly showed excellent pace from Saturday onwards using the data from the simulator.
Wolff believes having an experienced F1 driver like Schumacher in the sim ahead of European races is a “huge advantage”, as proven in Barcelona.
However, as much as the Austrian is enjoying having the German in the team as their reserve driver, he’d like to see Schumacher on the grid.
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“We have another mature, successful and experienced Formula One driver on the team to support us. Both in the simulator and with his feedback,” Wolff added.
“At some of the European races, it is a huge advantage if you have someone like that sitting in the simulator on Friday evening and working through the data for Saturday.
“Besides, if one of our drivers ever has fish poisoning – or avocado poisoning in Lewis’ case – we know we’ve got a great guy in the car who can drive well. But as much as I like this situation from the point of view of our team, I would like Mick to be able to race himself.”