Formula 1: Mick Schumacher linked to future Ferrari seat

According to Ferrari, Mick Schumacher is in the running for a future Formula 1 seat within the organization, even if not with the factory team.

It is impossible to think of Ferrari winning Formula 1 world championship after Formula 1 world championship without thinking of Michael Schumacher, who won five consecutive titles driving for the Scuderia from 2000 to 2004 to become the sport’s first ever six and then seven-time champion.

That has made the current situation at the Ferrari Driver Academy all the more interesting as it pertains to their future in Formula 1.

Mick Schumacher, Michael’s son, is one of the drivers of the Ferrari Driver Academy, and that has been the case for nearly a year.

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The 20-year-old German’s success in some of the junior series landed him this role, and it is one that he is set to carry out in 2020 driving for Prema Racing in Formula 2, just like he did in 2019.

After finishing in 12th place in the 2017 Formula 3 European Championship driver standings driving for Prema, Schumacher won the 2018 championship driving for the team thanks to a late surge that saw him win eight races in a 12-race span. He was promoted to Formula 2 and finished in a disappointing 12th in the standings in 2019, but he did manage to win a race and showed promise that could lead to a solid 2020 campaign.

But when will Schumacher be promoted to Formula 1, and could that promotion result in him following his father’s footsteps to a seat at the sport’s most successful and historic team?

According to team principal Mattia Binotto, it could happen, even if not in the next year.

Here is what he had to say, according to Motorsport.

"“We are very proud having made him part of the FDA. That’s it for the obvious love, not only because he is Michael Schumacher’s son, but because I think he’s a good driver, he actually performed well even in this season.“If you look at the standings you can see some experienced drivers on top, but he had one good season to gain experience. And if you look in term of rookies, too, he was doing well. He was a rookie. So, I think that next season will be key for him to understand how much he’s progressing.“We are expecting much from the next year because he will have one season of experience and we are pretty sure he’s a good candidate for F1 in the future.”"

Binotto added that it is too early to tell whether or not Schumacher is truly a candidate to drive for the Scuderia, but he did reiterate that this is the goal and that as a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, he is undoubtedly on the radar.

"“Will he be a candidate for Ferrari either in the future? It’s really too early on. But again, the aim of the FDA is to find the next talent for Ferrari and he is part of the FDA, because finally, we believe he’s got the talent to stay in this group.”"

There are four other Ferrari Driver Academy members who are slated to compete in Formula 2 in 2020, with one being Robert Shwartzman, who is set to partner Schumacher at Prema Racing following his championship-winning 2019 Formula 3 season.

The other three are Marcus Armstrong, Callum Ilott and Giuliano Alesi, who are set to drive for ART Grand Prix, UNI-Virtuosi Racing and BWT HWA RACELAB, respectively.

As of now, Ferrari are one of only five teams with a confirmed driver for beyond the 2020 season, and that confirmed driver, Charles Leclerc, has the longest contract in the sport, having just signed a deal to remain with the team through at least the 2024 season.

He is now the clear-cut number one driver who Ferrari plan to build their future around, and with Sebastian Vettel’s contract set to expire after the 2020 season, the situation surrounding their second seat is quite intriguing.

Even if Schumacher doesn’t end up with the factory team within the next year or so, he could still end up there down the road. Perhaps more notably as it pertains to the near future, there is a good chance that he will still be promoted to Formula 1 through his status as a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, and such a promotion would likely be to Alfa Romeo Racing.

Alfa Romeo Racing are one of the two teams other than Ferrari that are Ferrari-powered, along with Haas, and because of their contractual agreement with the Italian team, Ferrari have the right to determine half of their driver lineup each season.

In 2019, Ferrari selected rookie Antonio Giovinazzi after Leclerc was promoted to the factory team as the replacement for the Alfa Romeo Racing-bound Kimi Raikkonen, and they backed him to return in 2020.

With that being said, there was a chance that Giovinazzi would lose his ride after just one year, especially following his last-lap shunt in the Belgian Grand Prix. Had that happened, Schumacher would have been in the running to end up with the Swiss team.

But Giovinazzi made improvements after the summer break, during which time he outscored Raikkonen and recorded a career-high fifth place finish in the Brazilian Grand Prix, and Schumacher simply did not show enough in his rookie Formula 2 season to warrant a promotion quite yet. As such, the 25-year-old Italian is slated to return.

Alfa Romeo Racing do not have any drivers under contract for 2021, and with Raikkonen being the only driver over 40 years old and being slated to break the all-time Formula 1 starts record in 2020, there is a chance that he may retire.

Don’t rule Schumacher out from ending up with the team next year, especially if he wins this year’s Formula 2 championship.

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Will Mick Schumacher be promoted from Formula 2 to Formula 1 within the next few seasons, and will that ultimately lead to him driving for Ferrari, the team with which his father won five consecutive world championships? It is still too early to tell, but the groundwork to make such a journey happen has been laid.

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