Ex-F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone Does Not Believe Mick Schumacher Has What it Takes to Return to the Grid

Former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone does not see Mick Schumacher returning to the grid after a torrid spell with Haas. Ecclestone believes that the 24-year-old needs to accept the fact that he may never be able to return to F1 and must now think of alternatives.

While speaking to RTL (as quoted by motorsport.nextgen-auto.com), the 92-year-old said, “He (Mick) has to forget this dream, because sooner or later we all wake up from a dream. He has to accept that and start thinking about what the alternative is and try to pursue that“.

Although Mick is the son of legendary F1 driver Michael Schumacher and has several resourceful connections, Ecclestone does not believe they can help him make a return to the sport. The British billionaire said that the people around Mick may be able to help him in several ways but making a return to F1 is not one of them.

Mick Schumacher joined Mercedes as a reserve driver after a disastrous spell with Haas

Mick Schumacher now seems far more content at Mercedes after a disastrous two-year spell with Haas. In his first season in 2021, the 24-year-old scored no points and finished 19th in the Drivers’ Championship. While the German did improve in the season after, he still did not meet the standards set by Haas.

 

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Schumacher just scored 12 points and finished 13 points behind his teammate, Kevin Magnussen, in the championship. What was most frustrating to the team about his performances was the number of crashes he had and the huge amount the team had to pay in damages. Schumacher’s crashes cost Haas more than $2 million in damages alone.

Steiner has slammed Mick multiple times for his performances

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has left no stone unturned in slamming Mick Schumacher for the disastrous performances he had with the team in 2021 and 2022. He revealed most of his frustrations about the young German driver in his book, Surviving to Drive.

When he came to writing about the 24-year-old in his book, Steiner began by stating, (as quoted by planetf1.com), “Jeezoz [sic], where do I start”? The Haas team principal then went on to reveal his frustrations about Schumacher by explaining how he always found himself in trouble because of the German’s mistakes.

“Having a good car quickly turned into a double-edged sword for me and one of the main reasons for this is that we keep on f****** wrecking them, or should I say one driver does. The driver who hasn’t scored any points yet” explained a frustrated Steiner.

Considering how Schumacher’s career has so far panned out, it will now be interesting to see if any team is willing to offer him a drive in the future or not.