Mick Schumacher Gives Touching Social Media Tribute After First Podium Finish In WEC

Saajan Jogia | Sep 16, 2024

Oct 23, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Haas F1 Team driver Mick Schumacher (47) of Team Germany walks on to the track before the running of the U.S. Grand Prix F1 race at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Alpine World Endurance Championship (WEC) driver Mick Schumacher gave a touching tribute to his teammates and team on X after making his way onto the podium at the iconic Fuji Speedway in Japan for the first time. Along with his teammates Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere, the team secured a third-place finish in the #36 Alpine A424 LMDh. The podium finish marked an emotional moment for the German driver, who had been through "ups and downs" in his racing journey.

Mick Schumacher raced for the Haas F1 team in 2021 and 2022 but failed to secure a seat with any team for the following season. This led him to take on a reserve driver role at Mercedes in 2023. Despite his efforts to return to Formula 1, the 25-year-old faced ongoing setbacks in his pursuit of a full-time seat in the premier class.

In 2024, Mick Schumacher seized the chance to compete with Alpine in the WEC championship, even though Formula 1 remained his ultimate ambition. During his WEC journey, he tested for an Alpine F1 seat alongside Alpine Academy driver Jack Doohan but ultimately lost out to his friend. Despite the setback, Schumacher's heartfelt message to his WEC team and teammates for their support suggests he faced significant challenges on his path to earning his first podium finish in a long time. He wrote:

"What a weekend.

"It’s been a while since I’ve stood on the podium. Good thing it felt like I never left it.

"I want to thank my two teammates and the team for their hard work day and night.

"It’s been probably the race with the most battles I’ve ever had, it really felt like the golden days, back in karting.

"Finally I would like to say a big thank you, to you guys for supporting me through my up and downs and never failing to send me positive messages. Trust me they don’t go unnoticed!

"You’re all amazing! Grateful to have you on this journey with me."

What a weekend..
It’s been a while since I’ve stood on the podium. Good thing it felt like I never left it.
I want to thank my two teammates and the team for their hard work day and night.
It’s been probably the race with the most battles I’ve ever had, it really felt like the… pic.twitter.com/igEGukvyiP

— Mick Schumacher (@SchumacherMick) September 16, 2024

Unexpectedly for Schumacher, the current season that started with the "worst car" saw a great turnaround through Alpine's consistent efforts, which helped the team secure the third spot. He told the media:

"It was tough this time.

“I think we started off actually from, in my opinion, the worst car we've ever had this year.

“We were really fighting [the car] a lot and were not confident at all from our side. [The] #35 seem to be a bit better on that.

“In the #36, for some reason, we struggled a bit more. And could see it in the pace nonetheless compared to the #35.

“So there's a lot of homework we still have to do. We should have to do some digging on our side if there's something that is different.

“But on the other hand we can be really happy with our result. The #35 was also, at a time, in for the win. For it being our first year in the championship, it's insane."