Mick Schumacher is worthy of another chance in F1 according to Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff – Image: XPB
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has called on his F1 rivals to give Mick Schumacher another chance in the sport next season after claiming the German driver was “burned” by Haas last year.
Schumacher endured two difficult seasons with Haas, initially in a wholly uncompetitive car in 2021 when the only battle he was involved in was against fellow rookie Nikita Mazepin.
In 2022, Schumacher never seemingly recovered from early-season crashes, despite scoring points mid-season, which resulted in team principal Guenther Steiner opting to release the 24-year-old.
Mercedes swiftly moved to sign the son of seven-time champion Michael as its reserve this year, with the younger Schumacher earning the respect and praise of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell for his work behind the scenes so far.
Wolff knows he has a driver who could comfortably stand in for either Hamilton or Russell should the need arise.
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“First of all, it’s great to have a mature, successful, and experienced Formula 1 driver supporting us,” said Wolff.
“At some of the European countries, having him in the sim overnight, and providing data for the Saturday is a super advantage for us.
“On the other side, if George or Lewis were to have fish poisoning – well, no, Lewis can’t have fish poisoning, it would be avocado poisoning – then we know we have a super guy who will drive the car well.
“As much as I like the situation for the benefit of the team, every day of the week I would prefer that Mick sits in a cockpit and actually races.”
As to whether he was actively pushing to land Schumacher a drive – with Wolff dismissing claims from Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko that he had held talks over such a possibility – he said: “I’m not even sure we can facilitate because every time we speak highly of him, somebody says something negative.”
But he added: “Wherever I can speak highly and praise Mick, that’s what I’m doing, but in the end, it’s every team’s authority to decide on the drivers.
“I very much respect our contracts with the teams. They were never ‘You have to take our junior driver’, or ‘You have to take our reserve driver’. When I was at Williams, I wanted to have my own choice.
“But I think teams are missing out on Mick, to be honest, I think he was burned last year.
“You need to provide an environment and framework that is different for every driver. We’re all different human beings.
“And I believe whoever gets him will have a very good pilot.”
In terms of where Schumacher could drive next season should an opportunity arise, the obvious possibility is with Williams where Logan Sargeant has struggled so far this season.
Additionally, Williams has an ongoing engine supply with Mercedes, whilst new team principal James Vowles worked closely with Wolff for many years.
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