Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher fears that the curtains may have closed for his nephew Mick Schumacher to return to the sport after a two-year absence, what will become three since the 25-year-old also failed to secure a race seat in 2025.
With Sauber, Mick’s last chance to secure a race seat in 2025, announcing current F2 leader Gabriel Bortoleto as their second driver, Ralf believes it is time for his nephew to look at other racing disciplines.
“I think it will be difficult (for Mick to return) after such a long absence. Unless, and of course you don’t wish that on anyone, someone gets sick or stops“, Ralf said in an interview with the German Sky.
Binotto says Sauber had talks with ‘strong candidate’ Mick Schumacher before deciding on Bortoleto https://t.co/rczGu8cRoo
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Ralf added Mick has “been through a lot in the past year and a half” as he received a message from Alpine on social media that “he would not be driving for them (in F1) in 2025.“ After Alpine snubbed Mick, Ralf claimed it was time for the 25-year-old to continue competing in endurance racing or think about switching disciplines.
One of the key reasons why teams seem to be hesitant to give Mick a second chance in F1 is because of why Haas sacked him at the end of 2022. With Mick on their side, Haas often had a high repair bill because the German, unfortunately, had several crashes during his stint with the American outfit.
While this was the reason former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner gave to part ways with him, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff disagreed. Since the Austrian believed that Mick never got the environment to succeed at Haas, he signed the former F2 champion as a reserve driver, a role the 25-year-old holds even today.
Mick’s reserve driver role can help him return to F1
Most drivers who spend time away from F1 tend to find it difficult to adapt when they return as they have not had the feel of the cars for a while. There is a concern that Mick may also suffer from something similar as he has not driven a Formula 1 car for the past two seasons now.
The one thing that may help him though is his reserve driver role at Mercedes. Due to this role, he may find it easier to get up to speed than someone else who has not had any connection with a Formula 1 car for a while.
However, as Ralf himself suggested, it does seem that teams are perhaps overlooking Mick as they are either considering sticking with proven drivers or prefer giving rookies a chance.
