Six races before the end of the season, Mick Schumacher is without a contract for the coming year. Although there are theoretically a handful of free cockpits, the German still has to worry about his future in Formula 1.
A Formula 1 without German (regular) drivers? Hardly imaginable. That was last the case 32 years ago, but could actually become reality again in 2023 after the departure of Sebastian Vettel and the impasse around Mick Schumacher. But the time has not yet come, but there are now speculations about the future of the son of record world champion Michael Schumacher at an ever closer distance.
Will the 23-year-old extend his contract with Haas? Does the German switch to another team? Or does he actually not find a place at all in the end? Schumacher's problem: Although there are vacancies at Williams, Alpine, AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo and Haas, the competition is immense and is getting bigger. On the last race weekend, Nyck de Vries drove into Schumacher's parade with an unexpectedly strong performance in the Williams car of Alex Albon, who was absent due to illness. With two unexpected world championship points under his belt, the 2021 Formula E champion recommended himself for the place with the British racing team, for which the German is also traded.
"Every time you get the opportunity to drive a Formula 1 car, it's like an application and an interview," explained de Vries, who has already been a Friday driver in practice for Mercedes, Aston Martin and Williams this year was active, after the Grand Prix of Italy and put his finger in Schumacher's wound.
Because in the said "applications and job interviews" the 23-year-old often looked unhappy in the current season. In the first third of the year in particular, driving errors and mistakes caused the loss of possible points on several occasions. In Saudi Arabia he did not take part in the race because he broke the car in qualifying, and Schumacher also dismantled his VF-22 in Monaco, just two of several incidents.
Convincing performances followed, such as at Silverstone or in Austria, where Schumacher collected his previous twelve World Championship points, which put him in 15th place in the drivers' standings, but that could not be enough.
"You cannot show one or two good races and then believe that you are an established Formula 1 driver. We need points all year round," said Haas team boss Günther Steiner, not counting the famous Schumacher son in the past few days first time on. For weeks, the South Tyrolean has made no secret of the fact that his German driver still lacks consistency and that he is keeping all options open for 2023. Only Kevin Magnussen is currently set at Haas.
It looks similarly bleak with the support of Ferrari. According to various media reports, Schumacher will have to leave the Scuderia's Driver Academy at the end of the year. "As we said at the beginning of the season, it is very important for Mick to improve this season," Mattia Binotto - when asked about the speculation - kept a low profile.
"In a few races we will sit down with him and take stock. We will do this together with Haas and decide what is best for his future," Binotto continued. Words that do not show clear support. The dream of a place in the red racing car in which his father won five of his seven titles has become a distant memory. In addition, it is completely unclear how a separation would affect the chances of staying with Haas, for which Ferrari provides the drive.
In addition to Haas and Williams, Alpine, Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri are theoretically conceivable as possible targets for Schumacher. A lot could still happen, especially with Red Bull's sister racing team. Yuki Tsunoda is about to be eliminated, but veteran Pierre Gasly could also reorient himself, allegedly flirting with a move to Alpine, where there is a vacancy after Fernando Alonso left.
Here, too, Schumacher is said to be in the running, but should be at a disadvantage compared to the more experienced Gasly. As Racing News 365 reports, there will be tests with four potential Alpine drivers for next season before the Singapore Grand Prix in Hungary. It is said to be De Vries, Schumacher and Jack Doohan and Colton Herta. But Gasly is not out of the race either.
However, a change by Frenchman Schumacher could play into the cards with a view to the AlphaTauri cockpit. Team boss Franz Tost has recently shown himself to be an admirer of the German, saying that the 23-year-old is "underestimated". "Mick is much better than many believe. He didn't win the Formula 3 and Formula 2 championships for nothing," Tost told RTL.
"You can't do that if you don't have good speed, if you don't have the necessary understanding and the necessary commitment and the necessary discipline." According to the 66-year-old, Schumacher "learned a lot" in 2022 as well. Is that enough? Normally, AlphaTauri tends to rely on its own junior drivers, so that Liam Lawson, for example, could get a chance.
In any case, Schumacher is in the middle of a grueling stalemate about his future for the time being. The German doesn't have many Grands Prix left, so that his name will appear in the field of drivers in the premier class again in the coming year.
After the next three races at the latest, the last personnel issues should be clarified. Until then, Schumacher has to show in Singapore (October 2nd), Japan (October 9th) and in the USA (October 23rd) that he is a serious contender for a Formula 1 cockpit. In Monza, the German showed in a duel with Nicholas Latifi in the superior Williams that he will not give up without a fight. However, so that there is no way around him, more championship points are urgently needed, and as quickly as possible.
