Mick Schumacher has been ousted from Formula 1 by his Haas team to make room for returning F1 veteran Nico Hulkenberg.
Hulkenberg is set to partner Kevin Magnussen to form a line-up with more than 16 seasons of combined F1 racing experience in a driver switch long overshadowed by team principal Guenther Steiner.
Steiner has repeated over the course of the season that Schumacher would only be replaced for a more experienced driver who could boost the team’s scoring consistency.
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The younger German’s crash-prone start to the campaign stacked his odds of being retained against him, and his two points finished to Magnussen’s six sealed the deal.
“I would like to thank Mick Schumacher for his contribution to the team over the past couple of years,” stated Steiner said.
“Mick’s pedigree in the junior categories was well known and he has continued to grow and develop as a driver in his time with Haas F1 Team culminating in his first Formula 1 points-scoring successes earlier this season.
“While choosing to go in separate directions for the future, the entire team wishes Mick well for the next steps in his career path and beyond.”
Schumacher said he regretted the decision but was thankful for getting his F1 start with the team.
“I don’t want to hide the fact that I am very disappointed about the decision not to renew our contract,” he said. “Nevertheless, I would like to thank both Haas F1 and Ferrari for giving me this opportunity.
“Those years together have helped me to mature both technically and personally. And especially when things got difficult, I realised how much I love this sport.
“It was at times bumpy, but I steadily improved, learned a lot and now know for sure that I deserve a place in Formula 1.”
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Hulkenberg’s to-be-announced return to the top category completes the 2023 grid, which is now fully subscribed.
It means his compatriot Schumacher is almost certain to be without a seat next season after only two years in the sport.
The 23-year-old’s last refuge for a full-time drive may be to hope that Williams junior Logan Sargeant fails to score enough superlicence points after this weekend’s final Formula 2 round to qualify for promotion to Formula 1.
Williams has signed the young American as Nicholas Latifi’s replacement next year, but he must finish no lower than sixth in the F2 drivers championship to be eligible for the drive.
The team says it currently has no other driver prepared as a replacement in the unlikely event Sargeant doesn’t make the cut.
Schumacher made it clear that his intention was to return to Formula 1.
“The subject is anything but closed for me,” he said. “Setbacks only make you stronger. My fire burns for Formula 1 and I will fight hard to return to the starting grid. Prove them wrong.”
Schumacher, who won titles in both Formula 3 and Formula 2, said in an interview with ESPN in October that he deserved at least three seasons in the sport to prove he belonged there.
“I feel like I’ve had the chance to grow, I’m obviously still far away from where I want to be and what I’m capable of being,” he said.
“In Formula 1 you do need three years to become a full complete racing driver. So I’m taking my time but I’m also conscious about the fact I want to prove myself and show everybody what I’m able to do, as I did in Formula 3 and Formula 2.
“I don’t see a reason why I can’t do it in Formula 1.”
But the son of seven-time champion Michael Schumacher has few options will have to compromise on a non-racing role next season before attempting a return in 2024.
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WHAT ARE SCHUMACHER’S OTHER OPTIONS?
With Schumacher tipped to lose his Ferrari affiliation at the end of the year, the German has been mooted as a possible Mercedes reserve driver option.
The Schumacher name has a long affiliation with Mercedes, being the brand with which father Michael started and ended his professional racing career.
Michael’s first senior drive out of Formula 3 was with the German marque in the World Sportscar Championship in 1990, and Mercedes managed him during the early phase of his F1 career.
Some 20 years later, four years after retiring from Formula 1, he returned to the Mercedes fold to spearhead its new F1 entry in 2010, though he failed to re-attain the heights of his Ferrari career and retired for good at the end of 2012 to make way for Lewis Hamilton.
When asked whether Mercedes would be interested in rekindling the Schumacher relationship, Toto Wolff said he remained open to the possibility.
“I make no secret of the fact that the Schumacher family is part of Mercedes, that we value Mick very much as a personality and as a racing driver,” he said last week.
“That’s why we will definitely discuss this option if it arises. But the first priority has to be to end up in a racing cockpit, because that’s what he can do and deserves.”
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BUT WHAT ABOUT DANIEL RICCIARDO’S MERCEDES LINKS?
Schumacher has complicated a surprisingly intriguing reserve driver market, with both him and Daniel Ricciardo competing for third-driver roles with a frontrunning team.
Ricciardo has long been tipped to take the third driver role at Mercedes, which will lose Nyck de Vries to a full-time drive with AlphaTauri and Stoffel Vandoorne to a reserve role at Aston Martin next year, leaving it without a contemporary test driver.
But Ricciardo is also entertaining talks with his former team Red Bull Racing, which is clearly not enamoured by its current slate of junior drivers and contemplating a reunion with the Aussie.
Tension between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez after the Brazilian Grand Prix may also have re-emphasised to the team the importance of keeping its options open.
Schumacher appearing on the market may force Ricciardo’s hand or at least accelerate a decision.
While the Australian’s experience and marketing profile make him an obvious candidate, the allure of the Schumacher name to Mercedes can’t be underestimated. Schumacher, at 23 years old and with only two years of experience under his belt, also better fits the profile of a reserve driver than Ricciardo and his decade of top-tier racing.
Red Bull Racing is unlikely to be interested in inducting Schumacher into the fold, having dismissed him as a possible AlphaTauri option earlier in the year, albeit in part because of his Ferrari links.
