Mick Schumacher is following the footsteps of his legendary father Michael Schumacher as he joins the Mercedes F1 team exactly 10 years after his father retired from the sport for good with the Brackley based outfit. Schumacher who was with Haas F1 and part of the Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA) severed ties with both parties at the end of the 2022 season. FDA announced that the son of the 7-time world champion was leaving the academy after a four year stint where it backed his F2 world title winning championship run and also helped get him a seat on the customer Haas F1 team to enter F1.
As this happened, Schumacher announced that he had joined the Mercedes F1 team as a reserve driver taking up the role Nyck De Vries had vacated as he joins the AlphaTauri F1 team next year. Schumacher will be backup for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell and will be attending all the races in the 2023 season and as well will be the replacement driver for Hamilton and Russell in the case either can’t drive for whatever reason.
“The 23-year-old has impressed with his maturity, technical feedback and work ethic throughout his career; all qualities highly prized in a driver,” said Mercedes in a statement.
When it had become increasingly clear that Haas wouldn’t be renewing the contract of the 23-year-old German, there were rumours that he could join Mercedes as a reserve driver. These rumours were further propelled by Mercedes team co-owner and team boss Toto Wolff who said that they were working on something to bring Schumacher into the family.
"We also know that with two years of experience racing in Formula One under his belt, he will be ready to step into the car at short notice to replace either Lewis or George, should that need arise," Wolff said in the press release.
“Mick is a talented young driver and we're delighted to have him join the Team. He is a hard worker, has a calm and methodical approach and is still hungry to learn and improve as a driver. These are all important qualities, and we're excited for him to help us develop the W14," Wolff added.
After Michael Schumacher’s legendary stint with Ferrari where he won a record consecutive five world titles, he came out of retirement when the Brawn GP was sold to Mercedes and morphed into its works team in 2010. The 7-time world champion was with the team till the end of 2012 when he retired for good and was replaced by Lewis Hamilton who ironically became the man break all his records include the stats for the most race wins.
Like his father, after support from Ferrari, Mick is joining the Mercedes team which also backed his father in the early stages of his career.
"I am thrilled to be part of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team as their reserve driver for 2023, and I am committed to give it my all to contribute to their performance in this very competitive and professional environment. I take this as a new start, and I am just excited and grateful to Toto and everybody involved for putting their trust in me. F1 is such a fascinating world, and you never stop learning, so I look forward to absorbing more knowledge and putting in all my efforts for the benefit of the Mercedes team," Schumacher revealed in Mercedes' press release.
Schumacher had a strange season with Haas in 2022 where he did out perform his teammate Kevin Magnussen in the second half of the season but his performances didn’t convert to enough points and his driving style caused many crashes which the team hopes to avoid with a more experienced replacement in Nico Hulkenberg.
Many believe, the move to Mercedes is a stepping stone towards a seat in what eventually will become the Audi F1 team, Sauber, which has also appointed McLaren’s team principal Andreas Seidl as CEO. Audi has made a big deal of the fact that it will be manufacturing the first F1 engine in Germany after decades something that even Mercedes hasn’t done thanks to its UK-based Brixworth operations. With the appointment of Seidl its gets an ex Volkswagen group employee who is also a German and that’s why many believe Schumacher could eventually be heading there as he is not only a solid driver but also the son of the most famous German race car driver if not sportsman.
For Schumacher, Ferrari was seemingly a dead end as the Italian team has Charles Leclerc locked down till 2025 and Carlos Sainz also tied to 2024. It also has other drivers like Robert Schwartzman in the FDA so chances of getting a seat with the works team were slim. At Mercedes he can get the experience of working with a big team and can impress behind the scenes like the way De Vries has managed and convert that to a race seat for 2024 which likely will be Sauber.
