Following his eventful, yet disappointing time with the Haas F1 team, Mick Schumacher, son of the legendary Michael Schumacher, now sits as a reserve driver for the Petronas Mercedes AMG F1 Racing. The young German who was supposed to walk in his dad’s footsteps, is now being belittled as a reserve driver.
However, Mick—a true pupil of Sebastian Vettel—has quite a lot left in his talent bag to show the F1 world, as he looks ready to make his World Endurance Championship debut with Alpine. ‘Baby Schumi’ shared his personal insights ahead of his WEC debut.
Mick Schumacher talks on F1 challenges
During an interview for Reuters, Mick Schumacher talked about his new chapter with the Renault-owned Alpine in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) this month.
Refusing to term his WEC debut as a ‘sidestep’, he started, “I’m a racing driver, I haven’t been out of racing in 14 years previous to this, so it was definitely a clear choice and clear direction that I wanted to be racing again next year. It is an upcoming championship in general, so I wouldn’t say I wouldn’t call it a sidestep.”
“I think it has its charm and its challenges just as much as Formula 1 does,” he added.
With his WEC debut, the 24-year-old will be a part of two teams of the racing world, serving as a reserve driver for Mercedes and WEC driver for Alpine. Viewing it as a challenging and positive task, he said, “So, I’m doing a dual program with the reserve driver’s seat role as a whole, to keep contact with Formula 1 but definitely I see it as a challenge, and I see it as something where also I, as a driver, can develop further hopefully as well.”
Prioritizing his F1 career over the WEC, he quoted, “If there is a necessity for me to be in a Formula One car and there’s a (WEC) race weekend at the same time then obviously Formula One has priority.”
Mick Schumacher will make his WEC debut in the opening Qatar 1812 race on March 2nd. At the same date, his F1 team Mercedes will also start the season at the Bahrain GP.
Mick Schumacher’s F1 journey
Mick Schumacher made his entry into the Formula 1 world as an academy driver for Scuderia Ferrari, back in January 2019. He made his F1 debut driving the Ferrari SF90 during the pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.
At the 2020 Abu Dhabi GP, Mick experienced his practice debut with the Haas F1 team. He remained with Haas for the next two seasons. This two-year tenure saw him get his best result—a 6th position finish—at the 2022 Australian GP.
In December 2022, Ferrari also bid adieu to Mick Schumacher’s contract, making his 2022 season ‘even worse’. But Mercedes handed him a ‘F1 lifeline’ as they signed him up as their reserve driver for the 2023 season.
Mick Schumacher now seats behind Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in the same role.
Can Mick Schumacher prove his worth in the World Endurance Championship? Will Mercedes call him up this season into the F1 tracks? Let us know your opinions in the comments.
