Mick Schumacher believes his chances of securing a return to the F1 grid are ‘pretty good’ as he continues to pitch his case to Alpine boss Bruno Famin.
The former Haas racer completed a private test with the Enstone-based team, which Mercedes boss Toto Wolff described as ‘super’.
Schumacher headed into his debut F1 campaign in 2021 as a reigning Formula Two champion with plenty of hype surrounding him, but after a difficult rookie season, he failed to kick on against team-mate Kevin Magnussen in 2022, leading Guenther Steiner to look elsewhere for the 2023 campaign.
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However, despite those setbacks, Schumacher hasn’t given up his dreams of returning to F1. After a year as Mercedes’ test and reserve driver, he took a World Endurance Championship drive with Alpine, viewing it as a possible route back onto the grid.
With Esteban Ocon’s departure already confirmed and Pierre Gasly tied down to a multi-year deal, Schumacher is one of a host of drivers pushing for the second seat with Alpine for 2025 and beyond. He will have to fight the likes of Carlos Sainz, Valtteri Bottas and Jack Doohan for the honour.
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However, Schumacher is feeling confident. It is important for me to return to Formula One to show what I can do,” he told AFP. “My chances in Formula One seem to be pretty good so far. At the moment, Formula One is within reach.
“I have to make sure that I don’t become too confident, that I keep going and make sure that there is a plan B in case it doesn’t work out. My plan was always Formula One, now we have to wait and see what opportunities present themselves to me. I will wait for Formula One as long as necessary.”
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This confidence will come as no surprise to Mercedes team principal Wolff, who was impressed with the feedback from the 24-year-old’s performance in the Circuit Paul Ricard test that Schumacher completed alongside Jack Doohan.
"As far as I know from Alpine it was a super test," Wolff explained to Sky Germany at Silverstone. "He really delivered, I am also happy about that. That's the message I got. They are super happy, but that was to be expected.”