“I’ll wait for F1 as long as it takes”: Mick Schumacher determined to make a comeback to the pinnacle of motorsports
Mick Schumacher is determined on returning to F1, the pinnacle of motorsport, despite the odds. The German driver lost his seat at the end of the 2022 season and has been waiting for a team since then.
Schumacher spent two years driving for the Haas F1 team in 2021 and 2022. However, back-to-back underwhelming seasons (no points in the first season, and 12 in the second) made the American team's top brass lose faith in the driver.
Guenther Steiner and Co. eventually replaced Schumacher with Nico Hulkenberg for 2023. Haas continued their driver line-up in 2024 (Kevin Magnussen and Hulkenberg), keeping the 25-year-old at bay.
Mick Schumacher spent the 2023 season as a reserve driver behind Lewis Hamilton and George Russell at Mercedes. As the former Haas driver wanted to keep himself involved with racing, he joined the Alpine's Endurance team for the 2024 season.
Nevertheless, Schumacher believes he still has a chance to return to F1. During the World Endurance Championship race weekend in Sao Paulo, Brazil, he said:
"Formula 1 is within reach at the moment. It's important for me to return to Formula 1 to show what I can do." (via Motorsport-Total)
"I have to make sure that I don't become too confident, that I keep going and make sure that there is a plan B in case it doesn't work out. I've decided that I'll wait for Formula 1 as long as it takes."
Schumacher drives for Alpine's World Endurance Hypercar team alongside Paul-Loup Chatin, Matthieu Vaxivière, Charles Milesi, Nicolas Lapierre and Ferdinand Habsburg.
Mick Schumacher tried his luck with the Alpine F1 team
Mick Schumacher recently took charge of Alpine's F1 challenger and tested some laps at Paul Ricard, France's Grand Prix venue. Interestingly, the test was dubbed "great" by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
"From what I understand from Alpine, it was a great test by Mick," Wolff explained to Sky Germany. "He did really well and I am very happy to hear it. That’s the message I received. They are very happy, but it is something I expected."
Interestingly, the Alpine F1 team requires a driver for the 2025 season after Esteban Ocon decided to part ways at the end of this season. It will be interesting to see if the WEC and F1 dynamic brings in Mick Schumacher.