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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has been making efforts to get Mick Schumacher back onto the F1 grid and is reported to have turned to the aid of an old contact.
Talking about Schumacher's future, here is what the Mercedes team principal said (via Racing News 365):
"We [Mercedes] are closed and I would like for Mick to get a seat. He would also deserve that. But the situation for 2024 is so unfavorable. In 2025, a few doors open again."
Schumacher has spent the current season on the sidelines post his fallout with Haas. Toto came to his aid by offering him the reserve driver position at Mercedes. Schumacher has only had praises for his current role at Mercedes, however, he also wants this experience of learning from the eight-time Constructors champions to be put to use on the track.
While there is always fierce competition to grab one of the F1 seats, Toto is trying to open doors for their reserve driver using his contacts. Doing the best he can for Mick Schumacher, Toto also needs to be wary of the extent of his support for his reserve driver.
Speaking to Sky Germany, Wolff said:
"We have to be careful, because if we support Mick too much, then, of course, there are critics who would like to make things difficult who then come crawling out of the woodwork."
Under the terms of Mercedes' agreements with other teams, Mick Schumacher is also available as a reserve driver for McLaren, should the team need a replacement.
Will Mick Schumacher replace Williams' Logan Sargeant?
Ex-strategy chief to Mercedes and the current Williams team principal James Vowles is key in Wolff’s plans to put Mick Schumacher back on track. Toto is reportedly trying to convince Vowles of seeing Schumacher in the seat currently occupied by F1 2023 rookie Logan Sargeant.
Having struggled to make a place within the points as opposed to his team-mate Alex Albon, Sargeant’s prospects at Williams are shaky. The American was involved in a collision with fellow rookie, AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries in Melbourne. He also missed the Baku sprint after crashing in the Sprint Shootout qualifying session.
Sargeant and De Vries are the only drivers yet to score a point after five rounds of the F1 2023 campaign. With rumors amping up about Williams replacing Sargeant with Schumacher, Toto dismissed them noting that most seats for next year have already been filled. Toto suggests that a return for Mick Schumacher as early as 2024 seems unlikely.
