(Motorsport) Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has said that the Silver Arrows are open to letting Mick Schumacher leave if he gets a permanent seat in Formula 1. Mick is the son of seven time World Champion Michael Schumacher and had been racing with Haas for his first two seasons in Formula 1. However, he was subsequently released by the team after which he joined Mercedes as a reserve driver. The Silver Arrows have Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, a partnership that is expected to last for the foreseeable future, which means Schumacher’s hopes to have a permanent F1 seat lies elsewhere.

“The most important factor is his personality. He’s a well-educated, intelligent and talented young man. You can see his junior career track record was very good and I believe that if we can give him a safe environment to further develop, he can be a good racing driver in a permanent seat in the future. In the same way we have let Nyck de Vries go in order for him to achieve a career, that could be something that could happen to Mick. Whether it is in our team or letting him go somewhere else, we don’t know at this stage.” 

“Where he (Schumacher) will massively contribute is that he’s driven the new car for a year, has been in F1 for two years, knows the tyres, knows the difficulties in the inherent DNA of the current generation of F1 cars, and he will be super helpful in the simulator and in assessing the car overall. It will be good to have him on track and in the debriefing room, and he’s a credible young racing driver. From that perspective, we have definitely gained with Mick joining the team.” – Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff

With seven time World Champion Lewis Hamilton expected to sign a contract extension and George Russell outperforming his teammate in his debut season, a break for Schumacher at Mercedes looks highly unlikely. The team are looking to bounce back after an underwhelming 2022 season that saw Mercedes miss out on the Constructors Championship after winning it eight consecutive times while Lewis Hamilton failed to win a single race. Mercedes will launch their 2023 car W14 on February 15th, eight days before pre-season testing in Bahrain. The opening race of the season will take place in Bahrain from March 3rd to 5th. 

Also read: F1 team Aston Martin credit Fernando Alonso for radical changes in 2023 car