Mick Schumacher, the son of the legendary seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher, was once seen as a rising star in the world of motorsport. He grabbed headlines in 2020 when he won the Formula 2 (F2) championship, securing a much-anticipated debut in Formula 1 (F1) with the Haas team in 2021. Given his family’s prestigious racing history, the expectations were high.
Unfortunately, Mick’s time at Haas over two seasons didn’t live up to the hype. Between 2021 and 2022, he competed in 43 races but never managed to secure a spot on the podium. His performance improved slightly in his second season, scoring a total of 12 points, but it wasn’t enough to cement his place in the team. As a result, Haas made the decision to replace him with the more experienced Nico Hulkenberg at the end of 2022.
Now, at 25, Mick’s chances of securing a permanent seat in F1 for the 2025 season are looking bleak. While he still holds a position as a test driver for the Mercedes team, he has shifted his focus to the World Endurance Championship (WEC), where he races with Alpine, a team that also competes in F1.
Many motorsport analysts have weighed in on Mick’s situation, and the consensus is clear: his window of opportunity to return as a full-time driver in F1 is closing fast. The two teams he’s most closely associated with—Mercedes and Alpine—have already filled their vacant seats for the 2025 season with younger, up-and-coming talents. Mercedes, which is preparing for the eventual retirement of its star driver Lewis Hamilton, has opted to invest in 18-year-old Italian driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Antonelli is currently racing in F2 with the Prema team and has shown promise, leading Mercedes to believe he could be their next big star.
At Alpine, the situation is similar. Australian driver Jack Doohan is set to take over a seat from Esteban Ocon for the 2025 season. Doohan, like Antonelli, is part of the new generation of drivers that F1 teams are banking on for the future, leaving no room for Mick Schumacher in their plans.
Even Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, a key advocate for Mick, has found it difficult to secure him a seat elsewhere. Wolff reportedly tried to get Schumacher a place at Williams after Logan Sargeant’s departure. However, Williams went in a different direction, signing Argentine driver Franco Colapinto, who has generated significant buzz in the motorsport community.
Wolff’s frustration with the situation was evident when he publicly criticized James Vowles, the current boss of Williams and a former Mercedes colleague, for not giving Mick a shot at the seat. Vowles, however, responded sharply, saying that if Mick was so favored by Wolff, then Mercedes could sign him to race full-time. In a further blow, Vowles even remarked that Mick wasn’t “special” enough to warrant the opportunity, adding another layer of doubt about Schumacher’s future in F1.
With most of the 2025 seats already spoken for, the only potential opening left for Mick would be with Sauber. However, even that option seems unlikely, as the team is reportedly considering other drivers, including Colapinto himself. This leaves Mick in a precarious position, with few options to continue his F1 career, and it seems more probable that his future lies outside the sport, at least for the time being.
This is a far cry from what many had hoped for the Schumacher name in F1. Michael Schumacher, Mick’s father, is regarded as one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport, holding seven world titles (a record tied with Lewis Hamilton). Tragically, Michael has been in a coma since a skiing accident in December 2013, leaving Mick to carry on his father’s legacy on the track.
However, as it stands, Mick’s journey in F1 appears to have stalled, and the chances of seeing a Schumacher at the front of the grid again are diminishing.
