Bernie Ecclestone urges Mick Schumacher to "win in other motorsport categories"

Ferrari junior Mick Schumacher is the last driver still in the balance among those on the track this season regarding his future in the sport. The German, currently with Haas, is not yet certain of the intentions of the American team, who is still evaluating its line-up for the 2023 Formula 1 season.

However, Haas’ seat is the last one free left for next year’s championship. The Ferrari Driver Academy member, who has been racing for the American team in the last two seasons, may be replaced with veteran and compatriot Nico Hulkenberg. The Aston Martin reserve driver is given as a clear favorite by the latest reports in the media, who inform that Haas team principal of the team, Gunther Steiner, wants Nico Hulkenberg alongside Kevin Magnussen in 2023.

Former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone also believes that Mick Schumacher‘s time in Formula 1 is now drawing to a close, at least for the neat future. The now 92-year-old British manager, during an interview for German site RTL, advised the Ferrari junior, who won the F2 title in the 2020 season, to accept the situation and for now try to focus himself on championships other than Formula 1:

“I don’t think he will be there. People were disappointed with his performance,” he said. “We don’t know whether it was because of him or the team, but of course it’s difficult to find someone to put him on a winning team. Because he’s not in one at the moment.” – said Bernie Ecclestone, who was at the top of Formula 1 in the years Mick’s father Michael Schumacher triumphed.

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“Maybe he needs to forget Formula 1 for now and focus on the other motorsport categories. His name is his biggest burden, but he tries to live up to it as best he can. And that’s what gets him into all his troubles. Therefore, forget it and win in another category,” Ecclestone added.

Mick Schumacher’s cousin David this year tried to unsuccessfully compete in the DTM, a series that Mick’s uncle, Ralf Schumacher had also tackled in the past.

Some also think Mick Schumacher has been too coddled and protected by the management team that surrounds him, led by his father Michael’s former manager Sabine Kehm.

“Travel with them, talk to them when they’re down. I think he wants a person like that,” Bernie Ecclestone continued – “But some don’t need it. If you threw Verstappen into the sea, he would survive even if he couldn’t swim.”