Schumacher disses Mercedes for Ferrari (2nd Update)

It's now official – Mick Schumacher is a Ferrari Academy driver

UPDATE This rumor is upgraded to 'fact' today. Ferrari Driver Academy announced today that it has signed a contract with 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Champion Mick Schumacher.

Mick, who will be racing in the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship, from next week will be taking part in the pre- season preparation activities with fellow FDA drivers.

The other 2019 FDA drivers are Giuliano Alesi and Callum Ilott, who will race in Formula 2 too, Marcus Armstrong and Robert Shwartzman, racing in FIA Formula 3, Enzo Fittipaldi, racing in FIA Formula Regional (Europe), and Gianluca Petecof in FIA Formula 4 (Italy and Germany).

Mattia Binotto, Team Principal of Scuderia Ferrari commented “For someone like me who has known him from birth, there’s no doubt that welcoming Mick into Ferrari has a special emotional meaning, but we have chosen him for his talent and the human and professional qualities that have already distinguished him despite his young age."

Mick Schumacher said “I am thrilled that Ferrari has entered a partnership with me and my next future in motorsport will be in red, being part of the Ferrari Driver Academy and also of the Scuderia Ferrari Family. Again, this is another step forward in the right direction, and I can only profit from the immense amount of expertise bundled there. Be sure I will make everything to extract whatever helps me achieve my dream, racing in Formula 1.

It is more than obvious that Ferrari has a big place in my heart since I was born and also in the hearts of our family, so I am delighted on a personal level about this opportunity as well. At this stage it is however also time to say thank you to my family, friends and partners who supported me all along and helped me arrive at this point."

Mercedes pushed father Michael Schumacher out of the team after the 2012 season and son Mick didn't forget the shaft his father received from Mercedes

01/14/19 Mick Schumacher looks set to be signed up as Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA) with Formula 1 testing on the cards, for the son of the great Michael Schumacher, as early as April.

Schumacher junior, the reigning European Formula 3 champion, will tackle Formula 2 next season and should the reports of him joining the FDA be true, word is he will also test for the Scuderia at the Young Driver test after the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Although a contract has yet to be signed, the Motorsport (Italia) website report that Schumacher will join the Academy at Maranello: “His confirmation into the Ferrari Driver Academy is close to being made official and Mick has all the credentials to fill the role of test driver. The fact that he already has a Formula 1 super-license will also play in his favor."

“A day of testing in Bahrain or Barcelona, by all accounts the latter, would be an ideal opportunity for Ferrari engineers to evaluate the German," added the report.

The Schumacher legacy at the pinnacle of the sport looks set to continue with the son carrying the torch, stepping out for the Scuderia 13 years since his father climbed out of a red F1 cockpit for the last time, having led them to five consecutive world titles.

Apart from the obvious sentimental and marketing value, 19-year-old Schumacher ticks all the boxes and would follow the path of Charles Leclerc and Antonio Giovinazzi should he be able to keep the upward momentum of form in the wake of his title-winning F3 season.

That would mean a seat for young Schumacher with Sauber, if not in 2020 almost certainly in 2021 when Kimi Raikkonen will have retired, while we will know how good Leclerc and Giovinazzi really are.

Other contenders for the FDA include Marcus Armstrong, Callum Ilott, Giuliamo Alesi, Enzo Fittipaldi, Guan Yu Zhou and Antonio Fuoco.

12/12/18 After Mercedes pushed father Michael Schumacher to the curb just when the Mercedes was getting good, Mick Schumacher is set to sign a deal with Ferrari to join their junior driver program, having turned down a similar approach from Mercedes, according to reports in Italy.

The Italian edition of Motorsport has claimed that the European Formula 3 champion has opted for Maranello in a battle between his father's former employers. Michael Schumacher won five of his seven world titles with Ferrari in a car designed by Aldo Costa, becoming arguably the greatest driver in the history of Formula 1 in a decade with Ferrari.

His son has navigated through his junior career without affiliation to any of F1's giants as he has been able to finance his own path.

Schumacher Jr was linked with a race seat at Toro Rosso earlier in the year after a stunning surge in the second half of the F3 season saw him take the title ahead of Red Bull protege Dan Ticktum.

The 19-year-old has remained clear that he intends to take a more measured route into F1, however, and has stuck with Prema Powerteam in order to step up to Formula 2 in 2019.