Mick Schumacher will take some time to assess his F1 future having lost his race seat at Haas after Nico Hulkenberg was yesterday announced as the American-owned team’s second driver for 2023.
Hulkenberg’s experience got him over the line as, according to Team Principal Guenther Steiner, the squad enters something of a rebuilding phase.
The future occupant of the seat Schumacher currently fills was the last remaining question with regard to the make-up of the 2023 grid.
“Obviously, it’s disappointing in some ways because I feel like I’ve been doing a good job up to this point,” Schumacher said.
“On the other hand, the team decided to go that way, so I have to respect that.”
Steiner stated he wanted a driver with experience competing in the midfield.
Hulkenberg fits that bill nicely having spent his entire career battling in the Formula 1 mid-pack for a number of different teams.
That was bad news for Schumacher, who is assessing an F1 future without a race drive currently available to him.
“I definitely want to stick around,” he said.
“I have time now, so I will see all the options that I have and then hopefully take the right one that will bring me into a bright future.”
Pressed by Speedcafe.com as to what that future might be, and if it included entertaining the prospect of racing elsewhere alongside an F1 reserve role, the 23-year-old was circumspect.
“I just want to put myself into a position where I know it’s going to be right for me,” he said.
“Whether that’s reserve, if that’s driving, that’s to be discussed and to be analysed.
“I have the people that are trusted around me, who [I] will be consulting with and then I’ll come out with some news hopefully soon.”
There has been some suggestion Schumacher could find his way to Mercedes as Reserve Driver.
The German marque has recently parted company with Stoffel Vandoorne, who will join Aston Martin in a reserve capacity alongside Felipe Drugovich next season, while Nyck de Vries steps into a race driver role with Scuderia AlphaTauri.
That leaves a vacancy for a suitable Reserve Driver, with Schumacher thought by some to be the ideal candidate.
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