Schumacher news: F1 champion makes worrisome claim

Mick Schumacher

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F1 world champion makes WORRISOME Schumacher claim

Mick Schumacher is one of the contenders for the seat at Alpine

Parth Jhaveri

Sunday 11 August 2024 13:55

Jacques Villeneuve has made a brutally honest admission regarding former Ferrari academy driver Mick Schumacher.

Schumacher, the son of legendary driver Michael Schumacher made his F1 debut with Haas, after impressing in the Ferrari driver academy and F2. Coming with the mighty Schumacher name, the former Ferrari academy driver brought more than just unheralded talent to Haas.

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Having a Schumacher in the cockpit certainly drove the marketability of the Haas. However, poor performances coupled with negligible development of the Haas car throughout the 2021 season saw Schumacher finish the season with zero points.

The German retained his seat for the 2022 season and the long-dreaded points finally arrived at the 2022 British Grand Prix, finishing eighth after starting 19th. His haul of 12 points wasn’t enough to secure a seat for 2023 season as Haas signed Nico Hulkenberg.

Mick Schmacher has been the reserve driver for Mercedes since 2023

Jacques Villeneuve won the 1997 F1 drivers' world championship

Will Mick Schumacher return to F1?

During his time at Haas, Schumacher showcased good pace and decent race craft, but inferior machinery and inexperience often went against him. He has been a reserve driver for Mercedes since 2023 and is being considered as one of the options for Alpine for the 2025 season who he now competes with in sportscar racing.

However, 1997 world champion Villeneuve is unconvinced that any team wants Schumacher.

He said (via F1i): “It doesn’t seem like any team wants Mick Schumacher to drive for them.

“The push has been made by Mick and his team, but no one seems to be jumping to get him on their team.

“The problem is his years in F1 didn’t conclude in a positive way, he might be doing better and showing promise in the position he’s in, but the evidence is there for everyone to see.

“For teams, it’s worrisome, do they want to take the risk of hoping Mick is better than he was? It doesn’t look like it at the moment.

“If a team does employ Mick as an F1 driver, it’s because they want the Schumacher image and it’s in hope he’s better than he was at Haas.”

F1 Ferrari Mercedes Haas Nico Hulkenberg British Grand Prix