F1 News: Toto Wolff Pushes Mick Schumacher Return - "Will Do The Job"

Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff is confident Mick Schumacher would be able to perform in permanent F1 seat.

Mercedes team chief and CEO Toto Wolff is continuing to push for reserve driver Mick Schumacher to make a full-time comeback to the grid. 

The German driver lost his seat with the Haas F1 team at the end of the 2022 season and with limited availability left, he was not able to secure another permanent seat for 2023. However, he signed with the Brackley-based squad as their reserve driver and has been learning from seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton and his teammate George Russell whilst also putting in the hours on the simulator. 

During an interview with AutoHebdo, Wolff continued to argue that Schumacher deserves to be on the grid. He explained:

"He deserves to be on the grid.

"When you don't feel confident in a car for a long time, you put more pressure on yourself and perform less well. I think that's what happened at Haas.

"He is fast. If you win F3 and F2, it means you have great potential, and he has never been able to show it. I'm happy that we have a third driver who I know will do the job if one of the starters were to withdraw."

Unfortunately, Schumacher faces a similar issue as 2022 as there are only a handful of seats which have not been confirmed for 2024 yet. Zhou Guanyu is yet to confirm a contract extension with Alfa Romeo, although the Chinese driver claims this will be imminent. AlphaTauri hasn't confirmed any drivers for 2024 yet, however, it is anticipated that it will either be Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo or the latter paired with reserve driver Liam Lawson, who recently made his debut in Ricciardo's absence. 

It seems the main opportunity for Schumacher is a seat with Williams. The British team is in contract with Alex Albon until the end of 2024, however, rookie Logan Sargeant faces an expiry at the end of this season. The American driver had failed to put any points on the board in the first fourteen races compared to Albon's 21. But, no announcements have been confirmed yet from the team regarding Sargeant.