With Haas not resigned to the back of the grid in 2022, like they were the year prior, fans were finally able to see the unlocked talent of Mick Schumacher.
The son of the legendary Michael Schumacher impress at times, with an impressive P6 finish in Austria being the highlight for the young German.
Despite clearly having the talent to command a place in F1, Haas decided to replace him with the vastly experienced Nico Hulkenberg for 2023, leaving Schumacher without a race seat.
The youngster has now been picked up by Mercedes to serve as their reserve driver, with both Schumacher and the team hoping that his time learning from some of the best in the sport will help him secure a place back on the grid.
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Last week, the 23-year-old completed his seat fitting, not only at Mercedes but also with Mercedes-powered McLaren.
Like many reserve drivers, the Schumacher will be available for multiple teams, with McLaren now revealing that they have an agreement to be able to call on Schumacher, should either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri be unable to race.
“McLaren will be able to call on Mick as a reserve driver during the 2023 F1 season as part of our arrangement with Mercedes,” announced McLaren.
“Welcome to the family Mick.”
New AlphaTauri signing Nyck de Vries managed to accumulate quite the collection of overalls in 2022, having stood as a reserve for Mercedes, McLaren and Williams over the course of the season.
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The shared role will be welcomed by Schumacher, who will grab any opportunity to race in 2023 with both hands, having admitted that he feels like belongs in F1.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has explained that the roadmap for Schumacher is very similar to that of Nyck de Vries, who served as Mercedes’ third driver ever since he won the Formula 2 championship in 2019.
This means that the Silver Arrows will do whatever they can to aid Schumacher’s development until he takes a race seat at Mercedes or earns the chance to sign for a different team on the grid, like De Vries did with AlphaTauri.