Mick Schumacher given HUGE boost in F1 seat hunt by Guenther Steiner

Mick Schumacher

Schumacher given HUGE boost in F1 seat hunt by team principal

The Mercedes reserve driver could be back on the grid in 2024

Jay Winter

Wednesday 19 July 2023 17:57

Guenther Steiner believes his former driver Mick Schumacher is in the "best position" to secure a racing seat back on the Formula 1 grid.

Steiner axed the now Mercedes reserve driver at the start of the year, handing his seat to fellow German, Nico Hulkenberg. 'The Hulk' has been the American team's trailblazer after qualifying for Q3 five times and picking up 9 points this season.

Meanwhile, Schumacher has been working under Toto Wolff's wing, with the Austrian boss telling the grid that the son of the seven-time world champion has been doing an outstanding job on the simulator. Schumi Jr was even credited by Lewis Hamilton when Mercedes claimed their double podium in Barcelona for his work on the sim.

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Although Steiner says he can't attest to that, due to the limited amount of sim work that Schumacher underwent at Haas, the F1 boss believes the 24-year-old has a great chance of being the next driver to land a racing seat.

"I believe he is in the best position to secure a permanent seat among all the drivers at the moment," he told Germany's N-TV.

"Especially among the rookies out there. I must say he is in the Mercedes league, and naturally, Mercedes has many customer teams. So, there might be something there. He is in the best position compared to everyone else.

"Whether it works out or not, I don't know because, as I said, I don't interfere in the decisions made by other team principals. Each one has to make their own decisions and live with the responsibility. Therefore, I don't have an opinion on that. But he is certainly in a good position."

Mick Schumacher (left) with Guenther Steiner on the Haas pit wall

'It's not about deserving'

Although the Italian believes Schumacher is next in line to receive an F1 seat, Steiner doesn't necessarily believe the young German "deserves" one.

"The word 'deserve' in Formula 1 is always a difficult word," he said.

"Who deserves what? That's always debatable. One has to work hard for it, have a bit of luck, be in the right place at the right moment.

"It's not about deserving. I believe in such a sport where there are only 20 seats, no one really earns something from the outside, and I'm not specifically referring to Mick here. this is a general statement I'm making.

"You have to fight for it, be in the right place at the right time, and then it works out. But it's very difficult, and when it comes to deserving, I don't think someone can say, 'I deserve this'."

Steiner's comments certainly come with a different tone from how he normally speaks about Schumacher. From admitting that their relationship "wasn't fantastic" to comparing Mick to a "dead horse that can no longer be flogged", this is the first time the 58-year-old has shown some promise in Schumacher's return to the pinnacle of motorsport.

For now, Schumacher will need to continue plugging away impressing the field with his development and performance. Given his association with Mercedes, positive evaluations from team principals and iconic names, it seems increasingly likely that the talented young driver will secure a racing seat at some point in the near future.