Mercedes boss speaks out on Mick Schumacher's F1 future amid Williams links

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says Formula One star Mick Schumacher ‘deserves to be on the grid’ amid links to Williams and Alfa Romeo.

Schumacher was dropped by Haas at the end of the last year after two underwhelming seasons with the American team, with Nico Hulkenberg taking his seat.

The German driver would finish in the points just twice in this time, and while that was forgiven in his rookie year due to the poor pace of his car, he was outclassed by his more experienced teammate Kevin Magnussen in 2022.

Soon after leaving Haas, the 24-year-old secured a test and reserve driver role at frontrunners Mercedes, meaning he is set to step in should either Sir Lewis Hamilton or George Russell become unavailable.

A full-time return to the grid is of course the ultimate aim, but the chances of that happening in 2024 are growing slim, with just four seats left to be filled for next season.

Two of those are at Williams and Alfa Romeo, with Logan Sargeant and Zhou Guanyu out of contract, though the latter is said to be close to agreeing a new deal.

Williams is the likelier prospect given their close ties to Mercedes, with their team principal James Vowles formerly being the Silver Arrows’ strategy chief.

There is also much uncertainty surrounding Sargeant who has struggled in his rookie season, failing to score points in his first 14 races, and with the team seemingly on the up, Williams may fancy a change in line-up.

Asked about Schumacher’s links to the British team, Wolff backed his driver to make his F1 return, saying: ‘I think he deserves to be on the grid.

‘The moment you’re not feeling confident in a car for a long period, the more pressure you put on yourself, the less good you perform, and I think this happened at Haas.

‘He’s quick. If you win F3 and F2, there is high potential in you, and he was never able to show it. I’m glad we have a third driver that I know will do the job if one of ours eats a bad fish!

‘But the contribution in the simulator is tremendous and that makes us sometimes do these big jumps from Friday to Saturday because he’s driving his socks off overnight.

‘I mean, Williams deserves to be racing at the sharp end and they’re doing a good job. We’ve seen that it’s an efficient car and it’s fast when it’s fast, but Zandvoort [the circuit for the Dutch Grand Prix] is a high downforce track and they [were] still there.

‘I take a certain degree of pleasure, pride, when I see them performing so well, but obviously it needs to stop now because we don’t want them to have further help!’

The F1 season continues this weekend with the Singapore Grand Prix.

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