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Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher believes that if George Russell outperforms Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next season, as he did in 2022, Mick Schumacher could potentially be looked at to take the seven-time world champion's seat, should he choose to retire.
With Haas replacing Schumacher with Nico Hulkenberg for 2023, the Silver Arrows signed the German to be their reserve driver for the upcoming season. His uncle Ralf advocated for him, emphasizing the "exciting" prospects of the 23-year-old returning to the grid as a full-time driver with the Silver Arrows in the future.
Speaking to Sport1 about the former Haas driver potentially returning to the grid with Audi, Ralf Schumacher said:
“Audi would definitely make sense, for Mick and for Audi. But something could also happen at Mercedes. Let’s say George Russell is faster than Lewis Hamilton again. Does he want to continue at all? That will be exciting.”
“But Lewis has so much credit with Mercedes that he can decide for himself. In any case, the money won’t play a role for him. He has more than enough of it. What will be decisive is who suits the new car better. Lewis Hamilton is still an absolute top driver, but he is no longer the youngest. The ravages of time are wearing on him. So you never know. I think it’s a win-win situation for the team and Mick.”
Referring to Toto Wolff's comments about Schumacher's talent, he added:
“Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has already said that Mick belongs in a regular cockpit with his skills. I think there could be interesting possibilities in 2024. Mercedes not only has its own team, but also partner teams where you can have an influence.”
Sebastian Vettel discusses past plans to potentially join Mercedes
Sebastian Vettel recently admitted that he seriously considered joining the Silver Arrows to partner Lewis Hamilton in the past. While both drivers share a great relationship, they were also at their prime at the time, meaning it would have been quite the challenge to have both driving for the same team.
On an episode of the Beyond The Grid podcast, Vettel spoke about the time he considered joining Mercedes. He said:
"Maybe there was [an opportunity, and] I spoke with Niki, but to be honest, it was halfway through the Ferrari period. Obviously it would have been a big deal, because Lewis was their number one, and I'm not sure whether they would have liked to have us both in the team. But I also didn't have great interest at that time, because I was so committed to Ferrari."
"I think it would have been a great challenge [to be teammates with Lewis], and I think I would have enjoyed that, but it just wasn't meant to be. At that time, like I said, my focus was to win with Ferrari. I didn't want to change team and win with Mercedes, but it just didn't happen. I am cool with that."
Sebastian Vettel retired from F1 at the end of the 2022 season.
