Kevin Magnussen has empathised with former team-mate Mick Schumacher after losing his Formula 1 drive with Haas but expects he’ll be back in future.
Schumacher was out of contract following the conclusion of the 2022 season, team boss Guenther Steiner opting for Nico Hulkenberg moving forward.
With no other race drives available, Schumacher will be absent from the Formula 1 grid next year, though he’s targeted a return in future.
Steiner delivered the news to the second-generation racer on the Wednesday prior to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, before making it public the following day.
It’s a conversation Magnussen knows all too well, having been ousted twice from Formula 1 already in his career – once after his rookie season with McLaren, and then again at the end of 2020 from Haas.
“I certainly know what it’s like [to be] in his position right now,” Magnussen said.
“But I also, you know, I feel like when I’m patting him on the shoulder saying ‘keep at it’, then it also has some weight.
“I’ve come back twice to the sport. I’ve shown that nobody knows; you can never say never in the sport, and that’s really a reason to hang in there.”
Magnussen also offered some advice to his former colleague.
“Keep training. Keep positive. Stay close to whatever team he’s going to be involved with,” he said.
“He’s got a team behind him who’s going to work hard for him.
“I’m quite positive that we’ll see him back on the grid, I think.
“It’s hard to give much better advice.”
Schumacher has been tight-lipped on his future, though has been linked with a return in an F1 Reserve Driver role at Mercedes.
The Brackley operation has recently lost Stoffel Vandoorne to Aston Martin while Nyck de Vries has joined Scuderia AlphaTauri as race driver for 2023.
Schumacher is therefore appealing as he had two years of recent race experience, which would put him above Frederik Vesti, whom the team ran as its rookie driver in the post-season Abu Dhabi test.
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