McLaren F1 has signed a deal with engine supplier Mercedes to hire Mick Schumacher as a reserve driver in 2023.
Former Haas driver Mick Schumacher joined the Mercedes F1 team as a reserve driver in the off-season after failing to secure a full-time F1 seat for 2023.
As usual, McLaren has signed a contract with Mercedes, announcing that Mick Schumacher will also take on the role of reserve driver at McLaren. A photo of McLaren’s F1 machine was released.
“McLaren will be able to appoint Mick Schumacher as a reserve driver during the 2023 F1 season thanks to a deal with Mercedes. Welcome to the family, Mick,” McLaren said.
In addition to Mick Schumacher, McLaren will also use IndyCar star Alex Palou as its official reserve driver. Fellow IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward has also appeared in the team’s FP1 sessions in 2022.
This is not the first time that McLaren has borrowed the resources of Mercedes, a power unit supplier, and at last year’s F1 Sao Paulo GP, Nick de Vries approached his second F1 participation.
Nick de Vries was photographed in a Lando Norris racing suit and seat fitting in a McLaren car while Lando Norris was not feeling well. In the end, Norris recovered and didn’t need de Vries.
Mercedes F1 has also released a behind-the-scenes look at Mick Schumacher fitting his seat in the W04, and it looks like it’s been a week of fitting for the 23-year-old German.
Mick Schumacher, who is aiming to return to the F1 grid in 2024, is hoping for more track time.
Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff says he would not stand in the way of Mick Schumacher’s offer of a race seat for another team, as did former reserve driver Nick de Vries. .
Toto Wolff told Formula 1 of Mick Schumacher: “I believe he can be a good full-time driver in the future if we provide him with a safe environment where he can develop further.”
“Similarly Nick had to let him go for his career and now it can happen to Mick. Is it our team or do we have to let him go? still unknown”
Category: F1 / mclaren / Mick Schumacher
