Mercedes reserve driver Mick Schumacher might be returning to the Formula 1 grid sooner than expected, following a report by German media outlet Sport1.
According to Sport1, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is pushing for Williams team principal James Vowles to replace Logan Sargeant with Schumacher, potentially as soon as the Canadian Grand Prix.
Sport1 are under the belief that Sargeant has been given the upcoming triple-header to show significant improvement or face an embarrassing exit from the Grove-based team.
Given that Sargeant is Williams’ first academy driver to be promoted into their F1 team, the likelihood is that he won’t be sacked anytime soon, with the American having actually shown considerable potential in his first five races in the sport.
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Already this season, Sargeant has appeared in Q2 and has shown at times some very respectable pace; however, he’s struggled in the last few races.
He crashed into Nyck de Vries at the Australian Grand Prix and finished last at his home race in Miami, whilst Alex Albon battled much higher up.
To add to Sargeant’s woes, only him and De Vries are yet to score a point this season, with it now being a race between the duo to not be the final driver to score a point.
As a result of his recent struggles, Wolff is supposedly talking to Vowles about replacing the American with Schumacher, who was axed by Haas at the end of 2022.
With no seat likely to be available for Schumacher at Mercedes anytime soon, the German will presumably need to leave the Brackley-based team if he wants to return to the grid next season, something Wolff appears to be helping with.
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Schumacher was actually linked to Sargeant’s Williams seat before the rookie was confirmed by the team, with the German having reportedly been on standby if Sargeant failed to accumulate enough super licence points.
Whilst a mid-season switch to Williams doesn’t look that likely, he stands more of a chance switching to Grove than he does to Faenza, with Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko having revealed that Schumacher won’t be considered should De Vries be dropped.
De Vries has also been reportedly given the triple-header to improve or face an embarrassing exit from Red Bull’s sister team.