(Motorsport) Mick Schumacher, son of seven time World Champion Michael Schumacher has joined Mercedes as a reserve driver for the 2023 season. The 23 year old lost his seat at Haas to Nico Hulkenburg but will now be a backup to Lewis Hamilton and George Russell for the Silver Arrows. Michael Schumacher spent the final three years of his Formula 1 career at Mercedes and his son will now follow his footsteps, with the announcement coming less than an hour after Scuderia Ferrari confirmed they had parted ways with Mick Schumacher.

Speaking about his signing, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said “Mick is someone that has always been close to our heart because of Michael or the whole Schumacher family. He (Mick) is an intelligent, well-mannered young man. He’s been very successful in junior formulas. We believe that we can look after him if the situation were to happen and with someone that just fits the team. I think he deserves a place and now we have to see if we can do something.”

Mick Schumacher joined Scuderia Ferrari’s Drivers Academy in 2019 and then went on to join Haas where he had an underwhelming spell. However, he did manage to finish eighth and sixth in back-to-back races at Silverstone and the Austrian Grand Prix but was outperformed by teammate Kevin Magnussen, who scored 13 points more than the German. Schumacher will replace Nyck de Vries at Mercedes, as the Dutch driver has moved to AlphaTauri.

Also read: Formula 1: Williams chief Jost Capito leaves ahead of 2023 season