Toto Wolff has already hinted at Mick Schumacher being the best Lewis Hamilton replacement

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Mick Schumacher looks set to sign an extension with Haas for next season but Toto Wolff has long hinted that the son of legendary F1 driver Michael Schumacher could eventually make the switch to Mercedes in the future as a possible replacement for Lewis Hamilton. The young German driver has had plenty of media attention since winning the F2 Championship in 2020 and making the step up into F1.

It’s been a bumpy road for Schumacher though as he failed to pick up a single point in his debut season. After Kevin Magnussen replaced Nikita Mazepin for this year, more pressure was put on Schumacher to step up and show he could compete against an F1 veteran.

But he had initially struggled to match the pace of the 29-year-old, who started the season with three finishes inside the points in the opening four races. With Schumacher’s contract running out at the end of the year, the 23-year-old was facing increased pressure to improve his results with Guenther Steiner also calling out his driver in the media.

And he seems to have taken the harsh words on board recently with Schumacher finally breaking his F1 duck to finish a career-best eighth at the British Grand Prix. That appeared to give him added confidence heading into the Austrian Grand Prix last time out as he bettered that result by finishing sixth.

The race also saw him go toe-to-toe in a great on-track battle with seven-time world champion Hamilton. Reflecting on that battle, Schumacher said: “I think the main thing that I learned is that everybody’s human.

“Everybody makes mistakes and everybody when they’re under pressure at some time get to a point where they do make mistakes. That I think is important to me to know that and not be afraid about fighting with anybody out there.”

Contract talks with Haas are now said to be underway for Schumacher to sign an extension for next year. Schumacher is also on the books at Ferrari with the German driver tipped to follow in his dad’s footsteps by making the step up to drive for the iconic F1 team.

But there could be a chance that Mercedes make a move for Schumacher beyond next year, judging by Wolff’s comments from 2021. Speaking early on during Schumacher’s rookie season, Wolff admitted that he could envisage a day when the sophomore F1 driver takes a seat for Mercedes.

“Mick definitely has the potential to sit in a top car and why not in a Mercedes, but he has to go his way,” Wolff said last year. “You have to give him time.

“Only when a driver has the experience, doesn’t make big mistakes anymore, convert the speed, then he can bring in big successes in a top car.”

Hamilton’s contract at Mercedes currently runs out at the end of the 2023 season and he will be 39 years old by the time the 2024 campaign starts. The British racing superstar is yet to confirm whether his current deal is his last in F1, but he has indicated in the past that he won’t follow the likes of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen by driving into his 40s.

That potentially leaves the door wide open for another driver to take his place at Mercedes in 18 months and Schumacher appears to be among those being considered by Wolff.

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