With his contract talks at the Haas F1 team suspended, the talk of Mick Schumacher moving to Aston Martin is growing louder.
NurPhotoGetty Images- Schumacher scored his first points in F1 earlier this season.
- The son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher has been with Haas for 18 months.
- His teammate Kevin Magnussen has already been signed to a multi-year contract.
The contract talks between Mick Schumacher and Haas have suspended for Formula 1’s August break, and if Mick’s uncle has his way, that should open the door for the son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher to make a move to Aston Martin.
German broadcasters RTL and ntv are reporting that Haas has “suspended contract talks” with the 23-year-old:
“Team boss Gunther Steiner is therefore no longer in a hurry to negotiate an extended agreement with the driver,” RTL announced, speculating that the latest moves in the ‘silly season’ have diminished Schumacher’s alternatives.
“It means Haas can now rely on the time factor, knowing full well that the team is currently the only way for the German to secure his place in Formula 1.”
Not so fast.
Ralf Schumacher says his nephew should be a leading candidate to replace fellow German Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin in 2023. While the family bias is obvious, Vettel has also said the young Schumacher could be right for the role. Added to that are new rumors that the Schumacher could be able to leave Ferrari’s driver program now that his contract talks are on hold.
Ralf Schumacher has been instrumental in his nephew’s racing career.
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Given his performance, that is speculation that he could be removed from Ferrari’s driver academy with reports saying that Mattia Binotto is “no longer convinced” about the German’s potential.
He could then leave the Ferrari program to join another F1 development program – such as Mercedes’ or even Red Bull’s.
“He has improved compared to last year,” Red Bull’s top Austrian official Dr. Helmut Marko told Osterreich newspaper.
“But he was always in the Ferrari program, so I never had him on my radar.”
Ralf said his nephew significantly upped his pace and eliminated the most serious errors following a poor start to the 2022 season. That gives Aston Martin more cause to look at him.
“Sebastian is leaving and it’s not that easy for Aston Martin to replace him,” Ralf Schumacher told Sky Deutschland.
“Mick is actually the first to look at it.”
“If they want an experienced man who knows the current cars, then Mick is actually the first to look at,” he said. “And then the test driver, Nico Hulkenberg.
“Yes, Mick started weakly compared to Magnussen, but then improved and found his way.”
Ralf Schumacher could be dismissed as a doting uncle; however, he did correctly predict that McLaren would use the summer break to oust Daniel Ricciardo, replacing him with reigning F2 champion Oscar Piastri.
“If they have the opportunity, then I have to honestly say – the faster a young driver is in that seat, the more experience he can gain,” he said.
Most pundits agree that the ‘silly season’ will step into a higher gear after the summer break.
“As a rule, you look around for drivers in August or September,” Ralf Schumacher said.
Schumacher’s Sky Deutschland colleague Sascha Roos added: “I think Mick is moving to Aston Martin.
“The omens are just good for him being in a different environment. Haas seems like it’s not that stable for him personally.
“Aston Martin is a good address for him.”
Autoweek’s own Phillip Horton also says Vettel has been extremely close with Schumacher, whose father Michael was Vettel’s childhood hero, and has adopted an unofficial mentorship role. Vettel says he “thinks very highly of Mick” and that “I do think he’s a great driver, he’s a learner, he keeps learning when others sort of stall or stop making progress, so he has a lot of qualities,” but accepted “I’m obviously not entirely objective because I am very close to him” and that the identity of his successor is not his decision.
Keyword: With Contract Talks Suspended F1 Driver Mick Schumacher’s Future Could Be at Aston Martin