Mick Schumacher

Schumacher backed for incredible Red Bull linked move after praise from Mercedes' rivals

Could Mick Schumacher be part of the 2024 F1 grid?

Jack Walker

Monday 19 June 2023 13:27 Updated: 14:19

Mick Schumacher finds himself without a Formula 1 seat in 2023, but Franz Tost expects him to race in the sport again – sparking rumours of an AlphaTauri move.

Tost was interested in signing the German driver for AlphaTauri, who are backed by Mercedes' rivals Red Bull, when it was announced that he would be leaving Haas at the end of last season.

But Helmut Marko is not convinced by the young driver who struggled for consistency in his two years at the American-owned team.

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Schumacher then put pen to paper to become a reserve and sim driver for Mercedes. Toto Wolff, however, has made it clear that he will stand in the way of the 24-year-old rejoining the grid in 2024.

Will AlphaTauri take another look?

Tost remains a fan of Schumacher, and is surprised he’s not still in a race seat. "Mick is better than his reputation, I am convinced he has what it takes to be a very good Formula 1 driver,” he told SPORT 1.

“He has won the two most important junior categories, and that alone qualifies him to drive in Formula 1. And that has nothing to do with the magic of his name.”

Previous interest in signing Schumacher and Nyck de Vries’ poor form lead AlphaTauri fans to believe their team might go back in for him, especially as he is no longer part of the Ferrari junior programme.

“One reason was that he was still a member of the Ferrari junior team at that time,” said Tost.

“I pointed out [when expressing interest in Schumacher] that in today's complex Formula 1, even the greatest talents need at least three years to unleash their potential without test drives. However, the decision was made at the highest level not to take him.

"I can only hope for him to come back as a regular driver," he concluded.

Not many other opportunities

Williams team principal James Vowles’ obvious strong ties to Wolff and Mercedes could make his team a favourite to land Schumacher’s signature for 2024.

With no other glaring options available, it would likely to be a head-to-head shoutout between the two should either team decide to let their second driver go.

If you look any higher up the grid, he would be battling the likes of Daniel Ricciardo for a contract.

The most important thing for Schumacher is to simply get a drive, regardless of the team, because we all know how quickly the sport moves on and drivers are forgotten about.