Ferrari Driver Academy member Mick Schumacher deserves to continue in Formula 1 and get another chance to prove himself, in Formula 1, British Formula One managing director, motor sports and technical director Ross Brawn believes.
The former Scuderia Ferrari technical director, who worked for the Maranello team until 2016, is of course in a strong position to talk about Mick Schumacher’s Formula 1 future, as Ross Brawn worked closely at both Scuderia Ferrari and Mercedes with the Ferrari junior’s father Michael.
And the former Ferrari technical director confirmed that the 23-year-old is “different from his father”.
“Michael was always immediately on the limit,” Ross Brawn recently said, in a recent interview for European sports channel Sport1 – “Mick needs a little longer, but in the end he also won titles in the junior categories. He is very talented and 100 percent inherited his father’s work ethic and is extremely capable of improvement.” – he added.
At the same time, Haas Team Principal Gunther Steiner confirmed what Mick Schumacher’s chances of getting a contract extension with the American driver are “50-50”. This is also because Mick is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy and the Maranello team is supporting him in the negotiations with Haas:
“Mick has improved enormously this year. He has a really good reference now in Kevin Magnussen and is at an important crossroads. In any case, he deserves to take the next step in his career. And he’ll be measured by that.” – the British Formula One managing director continued.
Ross Brawn also pointed out that it is not fair to make comparisons between the young Schumacher and current Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen, despite the fact that both of them have Formula 1 drivers for fathers.
“Max’s big advantage over Mick is that his father was a hero in the Netherlands, but he didn’t win. He wasn’t world champion seven times and isn’t an icon like Michael is in Germany,” he insisted.
Ross Brawn is also aware of certain differences that are evident to those who take a keen interest in the sport.
“He’s different from his father, who was always on the limit straight away. Mick takes a bit longer, but in the end he won the titles in the junior classes. He’s very talented, has 100% adopted the work ethic from his father and is extremely capable of improving. That’s crucial.”
There are also some who feel that Mick Schumacher’s best option to remain in Formula 1 is a move to Williams, which would mean for Mick to terminate his contract with the Ferrari Driver Academy. Williams is looking to finalize its driver line-up for 2023, after confirming that Nicholas Latifi would not continue for the next season.
“It won’t be easy for him with Haas and Williams, but at least he’s on the list,” said Felix Gorner, a commentator for RTL.
One other possible candidate for those seats is Daniel Ricciardo, who will be leaving McLaren at the end of the current campaign, despite the fact that the Australian driver most likely will sit out 2023, with the goal of finding a place at a more competitive year in 2024, when several drivers will be out of contract.
“I don’t have a contract for next year yet,” Daniel Ricciardo admitted, in a recent interview for Australian radio Nova FM – “I’m not getting too involved in next year. Clearly I want to race but it’s not like it’s all or nothing. This is the situation I find myself in. If it means taking one step back and then two steps forward, that’s what we are trying to understand at the moment.” – he confirmed.
Felix Gorner feels the Formula 1 future will not be clear for Mick Schumacher and Daniel Ricciardo until a few more weeks: “The same drivers who are on the list at Haas are also on the list at Williams. That’s why Gunther Steiner and Jost Capito will not announce anything in a hurry. We’re talking about October at least, if not later.” – he concluded.
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