Mick Schumacher admits ‘no reason’ to stay in F1

Mick Schumacher has admitted that he has ‘no reason’ to stay in F1 as he prepares for a season outside of single seaters for the first time.

Schumacher raced for Haas in 2021 and 2022 but was replaced by Nico Hulkenberg for 2023 as the team wanted to bring experience to their driver lineup.

The son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher spent the year as Mercedes’ reserve driver and will continue with that role in 2024 as he competes in the World Endurance Championship for Alpine in their new hypercar.

Speaking with the official F1 website, Schumacher said that while being back in the pinnacle of motorsport is still the ‘ultimate dream’, he does not want to stagnate and fall behind by not being on the grid.

At last year’s season-ending race at Abu Dhabi, the 24-year-old said: “I mean, it does include a lot of hair pulling and tearing, and I feel like you don’t really see that.

“Obviously, this is the first media table that I’ve done this year [and] that shows a lot and says a lot in that sense, but F1 has always been a dream and it will always remain the dream.

“Again, there is no reason to stay here, not race, fall behind everybody… I would rather go out there, find something to race and develop my skills. In the end, if that leads to no way back into F1 but leads to another career, then I am happy to do that.”