After two years at the Haas Formula 1 team, Mick Schumacher is currently spending his third Formula 1 year on the Mercedes bench as reserve driver. According to uncle Ralf Schumacher, ‘it didn’t have to come to this.’
He says: “A team boss would have liked to give Mick a cockpit in the 2023 season,”. However, his superiors ultimately decided against the German.
“… that would have made sense, too” claims Ralf Schumacher who reveals that a senior team boss wanted to get Mick but was vetoed.
Mick targetted early on
After only a few races of the current Formula 1 season, the first driver has his back to the wall and has to fear for his job. The driver in question is AlphaTauri newcomer Nyck de Vries, who, according to reports, is already being severely criticised by the Red Bull management. There was even talk of an ultimatum of three races recently.
AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost may have seen these problems coming early on, because as Ralf Schumacher revealed in a formel1.de interview, he actually wanted to sign another driver, namely Mick Schumacher.
Ten years ago today… 🗓️
Fernando Alonso stood on the top step for his 32nd, and most recent win, in front of an adoring home crowd ❤️🇪🇸#F1 @alo_oficial pic.twitter.com/YMnETomeNY
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 12, 2023
Tost wanted experience not a rookie
Unlike the Dutchman, Mick would have joined the team with two years of Formula 1 experience. De Vries, on the other hand, jumped in at the deep end – and regularly sank there in the first races of the season.
“Franz Tost would have preferred another driver. Because he knows that you need two to three years. And the driver who was on the market was Mick. And Mick next to Tsunoda would have made sense,” explained Ralf Schumacher, who still maintains a good relationship with Tost.
Mick Schumacher option vetoed
According to Ralf Schumacher, Mick’s move into the Red Bull fraternity failed primarily because of one person.
“Then came Helmut Marko, who for personal reasons or whatever, didn’t want that [Mick Schumacher’s signing],” said the Sky Germany pundit, who claimed,
“Helmut Marko seems to have a problem with the name Schumacher, although I have a good exchanges with him. But with Mick he seems to have some kind of problem. There’s no other way for me to explain why it didn’t work out.”
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Schumacher at Red Bull
A Schumacher at Red Bull would have had some advantages for the racing team in the eyes of the former racer.
“You have to remember that Red Bull does not have the strongest market in Germany. If the corporation had kept a Schumacher in Formula 1, I think there would have been a lot of positive feedback,” Ralf Schumacher explained.
The fact that Nyck de Vries had some big problems in his first races is not surprising for the Sky expert. Although the Dutchman had always been “doing well” in his career, he had also always “taken a long time” to achieve success. Against this backdrop, it was “surprising” that he was now being counted out by those in charge, said Schumacher.
“Honestly, this is no way to treat a young driver. It’s not goal-oriented. The boy needs time. You know that beforehand,” the ex-driver criticised the actions of those responsible at Red Bull, who in Schumacher’s eyes are themselves responsible for the current situation in their B team.
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Yawn! Yet another whinge about a failed rookie. Almost always the same one recently. It’s getting boring. About the same as whingeing “we was robbed” for Hamilton. Give it a rest. On both ultimately boring themes.