Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff has said he is interested in negotiating a reserve driver role for 2023 if Mick Schumacher loses his seat at the Haas F1 team.
Haas F1 Team is set to announce Kevin Magnussen’s teammate for 2023 this week, with Nico Hulkenberg widely expected to be in the spotlight.
With the rest of the F1 grid already completed for 2023, Mick Schumacher will leave F1 after two years in F1 with the Haas F1 team.
Mick Schumacher will also be out of touch with the Ferrari Driver Academy at the end of this season, potentially allowing other teams to acquire him.
Asked about the possibility of Mick Schumacher joining as a reserve driver in 2023, Mercedes F1 team boss Toto Wolff said he would be interested in negotiating with Schumacher should he lose his seat.
“I don’t know what Mick’s situation is at Haas,” said Wolff.
“I think the most important thing for him is to get a racing cockpit.”
“But it’s no secret that the Schumacher family is part of Mercedes and that they hold Mick very highly as a character and as a racing driver.”
“So when that option comes up, we will definitely discuss it. But the number one priority is to end up in the racing cockpit because that’s what he can do and deserves.”
Mick Schumacher’s father, Michael Schumacher, returned to F1 with Mercedes in 2010, competing for three seasons before retiring after the 2012 season.
Michael Schumacher raced early in his career as part of the Mercedes sports car team in 1990 and 1991 before making his F1 debut for Jordan at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes F1 team will have to sign a new reserve driver for 2023, with current reserve drivers Nick de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne securing roles elsewhere. De Vries will be AlphaTauri’s race driver from 2023, while Vandoorne will join Aston Martin as a reserve driver.
The Haas F1 team brought Mick Schumacher, who won the FIA-F2 title in 2020, to his F1 debut in 2021, but he struggled to keep up with teammate Kevin Magnussen throughout the season.
Mick Schumacher recorded a career-best sixth-place finish at the Austrian Grand Prix in July, but has only scored two top-10 finishes with the Haas F1 team, both of which came this year.
Category: F1 / mercedes / Mick Schumacher