By the end of his 19-year career, Michael Schumacher had won more world championships and races than any other driver. His unprecedented success has been accompanied by moments of deep controversy, from his first world championship in 1994 to his first retirement from F1 12 years later. A far cry from what his son, Mick Schumacher, can ever hope to achieve in F1 and something former F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone is acutely aware of.

After two years at Haas as a F1 regular driver, Mick Schumacher had to move to the second row for the 2023 season. But after his interim stint at Mercedes as a test driver, there will be no comeback in the Formula 1 grid, says Bernie Ecclestone in an exclusive interview with RTL/ntv and sport.de.

 

The Haas F1 team damning Schumacher

Mick Schumacher had been given his Formula 1 chance as a Ferrari junior who then put him into the Ferrari engine customer team, Haas F1. This certainly didn’t pan out quite as well as many fans of the Schumacher name had hoped, and by the second year with Haas, team boss and team owner both did not have much good to say about young Mick as he was forced out of a Formula 1 seat.

 

Netflix revealed shocking conversations

The popular F1 series Drive to Survive revealed some shocking conversations between Steiner and Haas, discussing Mick Schumacher. Netflix episode three, called “Like Father, Like Son”, dealt intensively with Mick Schumacher’s season.

During the episode, Mick lost control of his car in the swimming pool chicane and it split in two after the impact. He was unhurt, but the mood at Haas is more tense than ever after that race.

Gene Haas went so far as to deny Schumacher’s abilities when talking to Steiner by phone:

“You need talent. You can’t develop talent…”

 

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Schumacher is finished

The Ex-Formula 1 boss and ringmaster says Schumacher is finished, needs to wake up, move on and must bury his Formula 1 dream now.

“He has to forget this dream, because sooner or later we all wake up from a dream,” Ecclestone makes clear. “He has to forget that and start thinking about what the alternative is and try to pursue that.”

This makes the British man’s opinion clear; Mick, currently a reserve driver at Mercedes, no longer has a future in Formula 1.

But what is the reason for this? Ecclestone sees several reasons…

 

 

Michael Schumacher not there to help

Of course, and this is probably the most important point, Michael is missing everywhere. The record-breaking world champion is still recovering from a serious skiing accident in 2013, and his current state of health is not at all clear. But with his experience, knowledge and support of his son, Mick might finally be able to bring his full talent to the track.

Of course, this was never an option for Mick.

 

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Schumacher needs supporters, ideally Horner

Ecclestone believes that Mick really needed even more support:

“I think he needs someone who really wants him to succeed and will look after him throughout.” He says he has not had that so far in his Formula One career, when he drove for the US racing team Haas.

The only person Ecclestone would currently trust with this sponsorship role is Red Bull’s Christian Horner. But the 92-year-old doesn’t see any real chance of Mick getting a regular seat in the cockpit there next year.

And what about the family? With mum Corinna? With manager Sabine Kehm? Couldn’t they be that much-needed help?

“They are not the kind of people who can help him. They help him in many things, but not for a career as a Formula One driver.”

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Ecclestone: Fake Schumi interviews 

Ecclestone, who exchanges a few messages with Mick’s mother, Corinna, every now and then, also comments on the fake interviews surrounding Michael Schumacher in an interview with RTL/ntv.

Two papers of the Funke media group recently advertised exclusive interviews with the record-breaking world champion on their covers – one editor-in-chief was fired as a result. The Schumacher family then drew consequences and took legal action.

“I don’t think you can use the word ‘criminal’, but it’s bad that they have to do that to sell a newspaper,” said Ecclestone. He said he was surprised that German media preferred to pounce on such scandals instead of reporting on the current Formula 1.

There is one reason in particular why he thinks the fake interviews are damaging: “It’s hard on the family.”

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