Formula 1 News: Even the Germans don’t want Mick Schumacher (Update)

(GMM) Ralf Schumacher admits his nephew is on his last legs in terms of keeping his Formula 1 dream alive.

The sport is in the midst of a hectic and uncharacteristically-early ‘silly season’, triggered by Lewis Hamilton’s early announcement of his 2025 move to Ferrari.

Mercedes’ Toto Wolff is still campaigning for Max Verstappen to fill Hamilton’s shoes – and Ralf Schumacher says he can actually imagine it happening.

“New regulations come into force in 2026,” the former F1 driver told Sport Bild. “50 percent of the power will be electric. Mercedes is highly expected to do well while there are big question marks about Red Bull.

“With the ongoing power struggle (at Red Bull), I would definitely be thinking about it if I was him. The idea of getting a team like Mercedes back on track would appeal to him.

“And he really can do it,” Schumacher added. “Max has an incredible feel for a car and can get those three or tenths extra that even a Hamilton or a (Fernando) Alonso cannot do.”

As for the other players in the ‘silly season’, Schumacher thinks a couple of key vacancies might open up for 2025.

“It’s still early,” said the German, “but Logan Sargeant has to be worried about his cockpit. He makes too many mistakes and costs the team too much with all his accidents.

“But Pierre Gasly has not been convincing so far this year either,” Schumacher added.

Gasly currently drives for Alpine, for whom Ralf’s own nephew Mick Schumacher races in the top category of the world endurance championship and Le Mans.

“What definitely works in Mick’s favor is that he knows the current car generation and has experience,” said the 48-year-old. “It is also clear that if it doesn’t work out for him next year, the Formula 1 chapter will probably be closed.

“But he has a chance,” Ralf added. “One cockpit will probably be free at Williams, possibly two at Haas, and Mick’s name will probably also be discussed at Alpine.”

(GMM) German Mick Schumacher’s famous uncle has played down suggestions the former Haas driver might resurrect his Formula 1 race career with German Automotive company Audi.

With Nico Hulkenberg now confirmed in one Audi-owned Sauber cockpit for the 2025 season and beyond, the candidates to become his teammate are now adding up.

The favorite appears to be Ferrari refugee Carlos Sainz Jr., with Red Bull team advisor Dr Helmut Marko declaring recently that he cannot compete with the big-money offer offered by Audi.

Andreas Seidl, who is overseeing Sauber’s transition to the full works Audi project, denied Sainz is being wooed with the offer of “huge sums of money”.

“Our approach is clearly not to motivate drivers or other employees to come to us with huge sums of money,” he told Auto Motor und Sport.

“We basically have the financial means of a top team, but we really think about how we can use every franc or euro sensibly and efficiently. We want to attract people who want to be part of this journey and accompany Audi’s entry into Formula 1.”

25-year-old Schumacher, currently a Mercedes reserve driver and a key member of Alpine’s Le Mans program, would seem to fit the bill perfectly for Audi – completing an all-German lineup without costing the outfit too much.

“It makes sense to have at least one experienced driver because we have to tackle many challenges at once,” Seidl said. “So it could be two experienced drivers or one with experience and a strong rookie.

“We are continuing to have discussions, monitoring the market, and of course monitoring the performance of Zhou (Guanyu) and Valtteri (Bottas).”

But even Ralf Schumacher, a famous former F1 driver and Mick’s uncle, doubts the former Haas driver is in the running for Audi-Sauber.

“Any Formula 1 opportunity that presents itself to Mick would, of course, be important and good,” he told Sky Deutschland. “No question about it.

“But that is still a long way off. At the moment, he is in very good hands at Alpine in the endurance series, he is doing a great job there, so we’ll wait and see.”