It has been speculated for a long time, now it is fixed: The Haas Formula 1 team will no longer rely on Mick Schumacher next season. This was announced by the US racing team. According to “RTL” information, Nico Hulkenberg takes over his cockpit. Schumacher’s time as a regular driver in Formula 1, on the other hand, is almost certainly over for the time being. The 23-year-old will probably move into second place.
“I would like to thank Mick Schumacher for his contribution over the past few years,” said team boss Günther Steiner, adding: “The entire team has decided to go their separate ways in the future. We wish him all the best in his next steps.”
Schumacher also spoke up on social networks. “I do not want to hide that I am very disappointed with the decision not to renew our contract,” he wrote in a statement.
Still, he thanked Haas and Ferrari for the opportunity he was given. “It was bumpy at times, but I’ve steadily improved, learned a lot and now I know for sure that I deserve a place in Formula 1. The topic is anything but over for me,” announced the 23-year-old.
Schumacher’s end at Haas had become apparent in the past few weeks, and there was always no commitment from the team bosses to him. On the contrary: Steiner and racing team owner Gene Haas counted the youngster publicly, charging Schumacher with material damage worth millions.
The German has had a number of serious accidents this season and completely dismantled his car in Saudi Arabia and Monaco. In the drivers’ championship, Schumacher is 16th with twelve points ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
For comparison: Teammate Kevin Magnussen scored more than twice as many points, ranked 13th.
Hülkenberg even impressed as a non-regular driver in Formula 1
While Schumacher’s contract question at Haas became a stalemate, Steiner confirmed a hot line to Nico “Hülk” Hülkenberg in several interviews with “RTL / ntv”. The 35-year-old drove his last season as a regular driver in 2019 (at that time for Renault), and in the following years he impressed several times as a last-minute replacement at Racing Point/Aston Martin.
Most recently, Hülkenberg was also employed as a reserve driver by Aston Martin. “He jumps into the car as a reserve driver without any test kilometers, so to speak, into the cold water, and has always delivered. That speaks clearly for him,” Red Bull Eminnez Helmut Marko recently praised the quality of the 181- former Grand Prix starter.
Mick Schumacher still has a mini chance in Formula 1
After his departure from Haas, Schumacher only has a mini chance of a regular cockpit for the 2023 F1 season. Logan Sargeant, who is set at Williams, still has to score the necessary points for the super license at the Formula 2 final in Abu Dhabi, the “Formula -1 driver’s license”, drive in.
It’s actually a formality, but if the American doesn’t make it, it would open a door for Schumacher in the traditional British team.
Williams boss Jost Capito had already described Schumacher as a “charming” option in an “RTL/ntv” interview at the beginning of October.
Formula 1: Mercedes as an option for Mick Schumacher?
It is more likely, however, that Schumacher will move into the second rank and remain part of the paddock next year as a reserve and development driver.
The 23-year-old could be accommodated at Mercedes. Mercedes Motorsport Director Toto Wolff recently “made no secret of the fact that the Schumacher family belongs to Mercedes and that we appreciate Mick very much.”
If the opportunity arises, Mercedes would be open, according to Wolff. After his F1 comeback, Michael Schumacher drove for the Silver Arrows from 2010 to 2012.
For an engagement at Mercedes, however, Mick Schumacher would have to cut his relationship with Ferrari. In the traditional Italian team, with which father Michael became an F1 icon, Schumi jr. Part of the junior academy, since the beginning of this year also official substitute for the regular drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Martin Armbruster