Mick Schumacher has been warned by his uncle, ex-F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, that his place in the Formula 1 paddock isn’t certain next season, with the young German currently without a seat for 2023.
Schumacher’s contract at the Haas F1 Team is due to expire at the end of the season, and with very few seats remaining, staying at the American team might be the only option he has should he wish to remain an F1 driver.
However, after Schumacher’s rumored deal to the Aston Martin F1 Team never happened, Haas are believed to have put a halt on any contract negotiations with the son of Michael Schumacher.
The team believe they are very much in the driving seat, which they arguably are given Schumacher’s lack of options.
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Haas may be waiting to see how Schumacher performs in the first few rounds of the second half of the season, having started 2022 poorly.
The 23-year-old ended the first half of the season strongly, after claiming back-to-back points finishes at the British and Austrian Grand Prix’s.
As well as this, Schumacher has been able to outperform team-mate Kevin Magnussen on occasions, something which rarely happened at the start of the year.
Ralf discussed his nephew’s current situation, admitting that Mick started the year “very weakly” after two huge crashes.
“Well, I have to say, Mick obviously started very weakly,” the 47-year-old said.
“Mick started weakly in relation to [Kevin] Magnussen, you just have to see it that way.”
“But,” he added, “he found his way and at the right time.
“And in Hungary with the package, I think he did a decent job. You couldn’t expect much more from that either. That’s why everything is on schedule. And no matter how: I mean, Haas is a team where you can show yourself for the first time this year.
“He’s already done that a few times and will continue to do so, hopefully with the update too. And if he has another opportunity where he can show himself, then fine, but the main thing is that he has a decent cockpit in the Formula 1.”
The ex-F1 driver is expecting a decision to be made on Mick’s position at Haas by September at the latest, with it usually being the time when teams “look around for drivers”.
Ralf believes the Haas driver might be threatened by a driver with more money, someone like Formula 2 championship leader Felipe Drugovich.
Drugovich has serious backing from XP Investimentos and has been linked with roles at both Aston Martin and Williams Racing.
Schumacher’s uncle, whilst highlighting the threat of Drugovich, also mentioned how little the F2 leader had accomplished in the first couple of seasons he spent in F2, with him only finding form this season.
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“As a rule, August or September is the time when you look around for drivers,” the former F1 driver added.
“I mean, there are also some from Formula 2 who are a bit pressing, of course, and also have money.
“There Drugovich is involved, after three or what feels like four years he has gone ahead.”
