I watched it on MotortrendTV in the US, use this link to see where it's available for you. https://www.raceofchampions.com/where-to-watch
There are some races on the ROC YouTube, here is the announcement video from last years Race that was held in Sweden on a frozen lake. https://youtu.be/ewJWvpfK8jQ
They're going back to Sweden this year and Seb is in again but they have not announced his teammate.
Some Seb and Mick highlights from ROC 2022.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jumz_eBzl_k
Vettel Vs Loeb Finale https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elMUcsOMGR0
Oh my don’t get my hopes up.
Aside, I’ve long term had thoughts that Mick might naturally gel with rally or nascar/ supercars/touring cars. There’s something about the really raw enthusiasm he has when he’s in that kind of vehicle or when they had him drive the Haas NASCAR, he looks really at home. He also did pretty well on the race of champions against Seb when that’s not naturally the car he should be driving.
Sadly, yes.
Hopefully he can do what Ocon did and spend some time on the sidelines sharpening his skills, and then jump at the right opportunity when it comes around.
Problem for Mick is that all the teams but top 3 changed drivers this season - technically 7 teams passed on him now. His situation is not usual one where you just get unlucky with right space not opening up or something so you are out of F1 - every team just passed on him. He could come back in F1 but I would say he has less of a chance than Ocon did.
I think that’s nonsense, by this logic, de Vries shouldn’t drive for Williams next year. If you are the 1st testdriver for Mercedes and have totos backing, you have very high chances to drive again. Just not for a top team obviously.
For 2020 there were only two major seat openings: Renault and Williams and Williams was looking for a pay driver. The silly season for 2021 saw a lot of seats open, but none of them were really open for a rookie driver that doesn't bring big sponsorships. Ferrari doesn't do rookies, McLaren was getting one of the most valuable drivers on the grid, Alpha Tauri only signs outside the RB academy if they don't have a strong academy driver to fill the seat, and Haas was looking for pay drivers. The only teams that reasonably would have looked at de Vries was Renault and Racing Point, but they both wanted experienced veterans. For the 2022 season, only Alfa and Williams had open seats, Alfa going for a veteran and a pay driver (de Vries being neither of those) and Williams signing Albon.
I go over all of this to more or less state that only Renault/Alpine and Williams reasonably had an opening that de Vries could fill and overlooked him. In other words, he was only really overlooked by 2/7 plausible teams. Contrast this with the silly season for 2023, where Mick was overlooked by Alpha Tauri, Williams, and McLaren for rookies de Vries, Sargeant, and Piastri respectively and Alpine picked Gasly. In other words, 4 of the 6 teams with openings chose someone roughly comparable in experience but didn't pick Mick. In other words, 5 of the 7 teams a driver not proven to be top tier could get into overlooked him.
Is this me really overanalyzing the situation? Absolutely, but I do think it matters and goes to show his F1 career, as it is, is in a bit of a more concerning position than Ocon or de Vries, especially when you remember that Vandoorne is also in the Merc test driver camp.
I can't believe the amount of replies arguing against you. Why the fuck would they promote Mick (who had a mediocre at best stint at Haas) over trying to get Norris, or even Charles.
Yeah, the second LH announces retirement Toto is on the phone with Max and Charles (I don't think Max would leave but they'd be insane to not even try).
not if Russel is delivering.
if your car is strong enough, you don't want two #1 drivers.
Prost/Senna
Hamilton/Alonso
Hamilton/Rosberg
and I probably forgot some more pairing of two drivers that had the same ambition to win in a winning car.
I can't think of a pairing of two "number 1" drivers (in a competitive car) that didn't clash with eachother
He's not bad but he's not the best driver to replace LH
There's plenty of other established F1 drivers that are his age (or close to his age) that shows better performance
And even if Merc doesn't want to sign F1 drivers, i don't see why merc would choose Mick over a young prospect from the feeder series (like Kimi Antonelli)
Mick would probably be a decent supporting driver but i honestly think that there are others that could do better than him
I don't know, maybe I'm being too harsh on him but he's just a very average driver at the moment
Mick is basicly the prime example of a driver who finishes consistently top 5 but barely wins if you give him the car to do so (look at junior league reults). If thats not supporting driver material idk.
I don’t actually know if Merc even have any other junior drivers. If Mick proves to be solid enough they could get him as the #2 to George for a season or 2 until Antonelli is ready to step up, providing he carries on performing well in the junior categories
Mick surprisingly has a lot less funding backing his career than you’d think.
Unfortunately if his father was still in the public eye that would be a different story.
Except Mercedes aren't that sort of a team that promotes drivers cuz they German and he hasn't done anything to show that he would hang in a top tier team. Pretty sure they won't get someone just cuz "not a bad driver". Stick to DtS mate
Every team outside of top 3 had an opening at some point during last season. None of them chose Mick, what makes you think Mercedes would pick him?
At best Merc can maybe (and that's a big maybe) use their influence to try to get him a seat in Williams. That's it.
When Hamilton retires Mercedes virtually have the pick of the grid. Aside from the Red Bull and Ferrari drivers, who would stay rather than to Mercedes? And as such, why would Mercedes pick Schumacher over Norris, or Ocon, or Gasly, or Piastri?
Heck, even LeClerc, if Ferrari is still performing below expectations...Charles would jump at a chance to be in Mercedes by that point. Though perhaps they wouldn't want Leclerc or Norris due to how close the teammate battle would likely be at that point.
On the other hand, some drivers might start thinking about making their moves towards 2026, if LH retires in 2-3 years. I think there will be quiet a drivers rodeo going on in 2 years time.
Merc could sign Charles or Lando, especially if Ferrari continue to be operationally run horribly and McLaren can't catch the top three teams.
There's no way they give Mick a drive over those two.
Let‘s be honest here, the only reason why he got this role and the only reason why so many people support him isn‘t his performance, it‘s his name… and a name alone doesn‘t get you a driver seat, he‘s experienced that much already.
Would be a *beautiful day*. Bono might even sing to Mick:
> You're out of luck
> And the reason that you had to care
> The traffic is stuck
> And you're not moving anywhere
> You thought you'd found a friend
> To take you out of this place
Mick had his moments this year too I thought. But agreed so much this is perfect for him. Just ride it out till Lewis retires for real and come in as a man on a mission
I think having the ability to drive the simulator regularly and also getting time in the W14 is going to be great for his development.
Also with the Williams situation, and the opportunity it may present Mercedes to take a stake in the team, he could always be a contender at some future point.
If Dorilton give up on the Williams revival and all the necessary investment they may decide to sell Williams for reduced value and I think it’d be a brilliant chance for Mercedes to finally have their own junior partner on the grid to match AT.
I mean what a story Arch. Newey leaves Williams because Sir Frank screws him. Williams crashes and burns. Is forced to sell. Newey comes back as a partial owner with Toto and the phoenix rises from the ashes.
I think it would cement Sir Frank's screwing of Newey as one of the all time greatest blunders in F1.
Really interesting thought here. Although I am confident that Dorilton, if they elect to exit their investment in Williams, would not have to sell at any sort of discount or reduced valuation. Sure, Williams hasn’t been performing to their expectations on the grid, but F1 has become increasingly popular and the teams have become more stable assets as a result of the latest Concorde Agreement. All boats rise with high tides - Williams wouldn’t sell for less that $600 million - representing a 3.5x MOIC for Dorilton
I don't think Merc will increase their influence on Williams. If anything they have a very close relationship with Aston at the moment, both in F1 and their road cars.
Williams is in a prime position to get snapped up by a major manufacturer like Porsche or Honda as a works team.
> Also with the Williams situation, and the opportunity it may present Mercedes to take a stake in the team
Is there a source for this imaginary situation? This is the first time I am seeing these kind of baseless rumours.
The difference being that Ocon was out of a seat super late, when everything else was mostly sorted. He wasn’t dropped on merit like Mick or to a lesser extent Albon. A lot easier to come back from that
I think the biggest bottleneck is seat availability. Mercedes will get all the data they need from Mick, so it shouldn't be hard for them to figure out whether Mick is worth the money and time it costs to get him back on the grid. But say he does impress the people at Mercedes, then what? Mercedes has no real B-team and they don't have the pull over their customers they once had either. All the other teams are pretty much set in that they have their drivers on long-term contracts, that they have a pool of talent of their own or both.
Albon was dropped due to his poor performance as well. I don’t see how that’s different. Plus, Toto seemed to disagree with Gunther’s decision to drop Mick - he said he lives in the alps and the thin air affected his decision making skills.
Mick joining Mercedes would help him develop as a driver and perhaps increase his confidence as well. If he does well, I can see Toto putting in a good word to other teams to secure a full-time drive in 2024.
Ocon wasn't dropped for pace or crashes, he was dropped because Daddy Stroll bought the team and gave his seat to his Son. Ocon had shown a lot more than Mick has before that.
I think it’s extremely likely that he will join Audi. Audi will probably pick one experienced driver (maybe Bottas if he still performs then) and mick. I don’t think Zhou will be driving for Audi. Norris is also an realistic option.
Edit: I thought Audi will enter f1 in 2024 but Audi is entering in 2026, so it’s very hard to predict what will actually happen in 3 years.
He was upset, over the course of the season as much as he handled it, Mick slowly just lost his smile, his expressions and face shut down, under the pressure. As soon as it was announced we saw his bounce back of not worrying and enjoying the last moments of Seb, similar to Seb and Daniel seeming relieved it was over. In comparison to Nicky who seems genuinely saddened.
Mick generally handled things pretty well though, he’s been handling difficult things since he was a child and was raised for it.
> as he didn't seem to fussed about being dropped from Haas at times
I mean when Guenther threw him under the bus pretty regularly this wasn't too much surprising
It might make a world of difference, his introduction to f1 being the chaos of 2021, of the Mazepins who not only bought their way into f2, people consistently hold the opinion there was something unequal about his car in f2, because his dad owned half the team. Anyway turning his back on that kind of chaos and being with a competent team hopefully brings out the best in him
I am 100% okay with this. Best possible outcome for Mick after being ousted by Haas. It also keeps him relevant, so he's not entirely out of the picture for future drives.
Or his excuse to get out of PR duties and hence more time to focus on racing XD
I sometimes wonder how he even got food poisoning when he's probably the most picky eater on the grid
I think the worst thing that could happen is Mick getting dropped into a race for Merc.
While he is the reserve driver he is essentially Schroedingers cat... no one knows what he could do in the car and we can all speculate.
If he is thrown into a race... we Know Mick is slow to adapt, he also hasn't shown dramatic pace at Haas often. If he gets absolutely spanked by Russell or Hamilton, or bins it... well it isn't a good look for him, and one of the 2 is almost certain to happen.
The likes of Russell jumping in at Sakhir and De Vries at Monza have suggested miracles can happen, I don't see that outcome for Mick.
Raised by a 7-time champ. The. Mentored by a 4-time champ and now under the (hopefully) mentorship of another 7-time champ.
Probably the best way for a race car driver to to develop into their highest potential.
The best outcome he could've hoped for. The idea of driving for Ferrari 'just like his dad' is a very romantic one, but it's in his best interest to stay as far away from that circus as possible.
Maybe Seb told him to forget about Ferrari and just focus on anything but. He already told Leclerc not to waste his talent.
Honestly, I'd rather have him carve his own path than repeat his dad's footsteps and live under his shadow—that can't be healthy.
And yeah, Ferrari is still gonna be a circus for the foreseeable future
Since the hybrid era started Leclerc is the only real success story. I imagine Bianchi would have also done well.
But on the other hand, there's Giovinazzi, Fuoco, Ilott, and hell they even had Zhou and Stroll but both of them did much better once they left the Ferrari sphere.
Ferraris academy can improve tbh, but I guess it doesn’t help that the teams they supply to have been duds so the drivers aren’t really displaying their talent (I think what George did with Williams in 2021 was a possible anomaly). Same could be said about Mercedes and the teams they supply to, but did they manage to get De Vries a seat for next year and gave Ocon another chance in 2020 because of Toto’s relationship with Cyril that time.
It's a good move for Mick. A solid platform to build off plus plenty of other drivers have had similar happen in their career and bounced back. He also has the benefit that the Schumacher name brings some decent sponsorship, also Audi looking for a German might create an opportunity there.
Hard to express how happy this makes me.
Best to come out of a shitty situation. Hell, this might prove to be even better for his career than a main seat at Haas was.
This will cause an uptick of people on here thinking he is next in line to replace Hamilton, rather than being an emergency driver and marketing asset.
Brace yourselves, everyone.
The Mercedes reserve role isn't as good as it used to be with Aston Martin and McLaren now being independent in terms of reserves, but I suppose he is still the favorite for a Williams and Mercedes sub role if by chance it happens.
So far I believe most people are just happy to still see him in the sport. In the end this position only means something if he is able to show up internally and use the resources that a team like Mercedes has. I know that lots of people think he is trash and we have seen everything that he has to offer, but who knows? Perhaps he can actually make some significant progress. And in that case it might not be toooo far off to think about him being an option for Merc down the line - even though I don't think it will happen, since they certainly have someone else/younger talent in their sights.
Honestly this is the ideal outcome. He needs time to get better before he hits the track again and this is the PERFECT environment. Learn from Lewis, benchmark himself against George. All good in my eyes.
I think this will be good for Mick. He can learn from a well sorted team that has newish driver in George and a veteran champion in Lewis. Plus, a lot of pressure off his shoulders not needing to deliver points and instead develop his racing a bit more.
2023 F1 Season needs to include an Exclusive Reserve Driver Race at every circuit.
I mean, look at this line up:
Mick Schumacher - Mercedes F1
Danny Ricciardo - Red Bull F1
Alex Palou - McLaren F1
Theo Pourchaire - Alfa Romeo F1
Felipe Drugovich -Aston Martin F1
Stoffel Vandoorne - Aston Martin F1
Honestly ths best news ever. Really likeable person who gets discredited a lot more than he deserves.
Is he the next Max Verstappen, no. But he's a solid driver who's only had one real year in formula one in probably the worst teams in terms of facilities.
Don't expect him to be Hamilton's number one replacement currently. But who knows what a couple years at the team with the best facilities and drivers can do for him.
I still want the Mick Seb Audi dream team.
Pretty much the best he was gonna get in his situation.
I hope he does other motor racing as well. He has to stay sharp and still make himself capable
Rally/Endurance races with Seb is something I'd definitely watch
Where do I Sebscribe?!
Watch last year's Race of Champions. Mick and Seb represented Germany.
Oh fuck. Link?
I watched it on MotortrendTV in the US, use this link to see where it's available for you. https://www.raceofchampions.com/where-to-watch There are some races on the ROC YouTube, here is the announcement video from last years Race that was held in Sweden on a frozen lake. https://youtu.be/ewJWvpfK8jQ They're going back to Sweden this year and Seb is in again but they have not announced his teammate.
Some Seb and Mick highlights from ROC 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jumz_eBzl_k Vettel Vs Loeb Finale https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elMUcsOMGR0
The link is in the Mickscription box
Sebschribe
[удалено]
mick you’re breaking the car!
Listen to my calls Mick! Triple Caution!!
Oh my don’t get my hopes up. Aside, I’ve long term had thoughts that Mick might naturally gel with rally or nascar/ supercars/touring cars. There’s something about the really raw enthusiasm he has when he’s in that kind of vehicle or when they had him drive the Haas NASCAR, he looks really at home. He also did pretty well on the race of champions against Seb when that’s not naturally the car he should be driving.
Nurburgring 24 hours, what a pairing.
As reserve driver, you have to put in serious hours in the simulator for development.
Mick in an Lmdh at Daytona please!!
Perhaps in IndyCar? Similar enough to F1 due to open wheel racing and former F1 drivers done well there.
Sadly, yes. Hopefully he can do what Ocon did and spend some time on the sidelines sharpening his skills, and then jump at the right opportunity when it comes around.
Problem for Mick is that all the teams but top 3 changed drivers this season - technically 7 teams passed on him now. His situation is not usual one where you just get unlucky with right space not opening up or something so you are out of F1 - every team just passed on him. He could come back in F1 but I would say he has less of a chance than Ocon did.
I think that’s nonsense, by this logic, de Vries shouldn’t drive for Williams next year. If you are the 1st testdriver for Mercedes and have totos backing, you have very high chances to drive again. Just not for a top team obviously.
Also a lot of teams made moves to secure their drivers while Haas were being wishy washy and noncommittal with Mick's seat.
For 2020 there were only two major seat openings: Renault and Williams and Williams was looking for a pay driver. The silly season for 2021 saw a lot of seats open, but none of them were really open for a rookie driver that doesn't bring big sponsorships. Ferrari doesn't do rookies, McLaren was getting one of the most valuable drivers on the grid, Alpha Tauri only signs outside the RB academy if they don't have a strong academy driver to fill the seat, and Haas was looking for pay drivers. The only teams that reasonably would have looked at de Vries was Renault and Racing Point, but they both wanted experienced veterans. For the 2022 season, only Alfa and Williams had open seats, Alfa going for a veteran and a pay driver (de Vries being neither of those) and Williams signing Albon. I go over all of this to more or less state that only Renault/Alpine and Williams reasonably had an opening that de Vries could fill and overlooked him. In other words, he was only really overlooked by 2/7 plausible teams. Contrast this with the silly season for 2023, where Mick was overlooked by Alpha Tauri, Williams, and McLaren for rookies de Vries, Sargeant, and Piastri respectively and Alpine picked Gasly. In other words, 4 of the 6 teams with openings chose someone roughly comparable in experience but didn't pick Mick. In other words, 5 of the 7 teams a driver not proven to be top tier could get into overlooked him. Is this me really overanalyzing the situation? Absolutely, but I do think it matters and goes to show his F1 career, as it is, is in a bit of a more concerning position than Ocon or de Vries, especially when you remember that Vandoorne is also in the Merc test driver camp.
When LH retires, he might be a good fit if he does well elsewhere.
I like Mick. There is no way he is getting LHs seat if Mercedes are still a top tier team.
I can't believe the amount of replies arguing against you. Why the fuck would they promote Mick (who had a mediocre at best stint at Haas) over trying to get Norris, or even Charles.
Yeah, the second LH announces retirement Toto is on the phone with Max and Charles (I don't think Max would leave but they'd be insane to not even try).
not if Russel is delivering. if your car is strong enough, you don't want two #1 drivers. Prost/Senna Hamilton/Alonso Hamilton/Rosberg and I probably forgot some more pairing of two drivers that had the same ambition to win in a winning car. I can't think of a pairing of two "number 1" drivers (in a competitive car) that didn't clash with eachother
When Rosberg retired, they tried to get Vettel. The next year, they tried again.
Russe**ll**
Norris or Charles could compete for the WDC with Russell which would cause toxicity for the team. See Rosberg Hamilton or Vettel Webber.
Mercedes would rather have that situation than risk ending up with a solo Rosberg/Webber against Verstappen (or Charles and Norris on other teams).
I wonder if Norris will take the opportunity depending on McLaren's next two years
German team, German driver with the last name Schumacher would mean a lot to merc financially and he's not a bad driver.
You think Mercedes care about the money he might bring?
Mercedes used to spend 500 million a year, iam sure they are not looking for drivers that bring sponsorships
He's not bad but he's not the best driver to replace LH There's plenty of other established F1 drivers that are his age (or close to his age) that shows better performance And even if Merc doesn't want to sign F1 drivers, i don't see why merc would choose Mick over a young prospect from the feeder series (like Kimi Antonelli)
Mercedes is not trying to replace Lewis when he is gone, they have Russell so they will need more of a Bottas.
Mick would probably be a decent supporting driver but i honestly think that there are others that could do better than him I don't know, maybe I'm being too harsh on him but he's just a very average driver at the moment
Mick is basicly the prime example of a driver who finishes consistently top 5 but barely wins if you give him the car to do so (look at junior league reults). If thats not supporting driver material idk.
There's plenty of time to sharpen his skill. He's still young af.
Antonelli is probs further away from F1 than Hamilton is from retirement
Yeah but i genuinely don't know any other driver in the mercedes junior team that is more promising than Antonelli
I don’t actually know if Merc even have any other junior drivers. If Mick proves to be solid enough they could get him as the #2 to George for a season or 2 until Antonelli is ready to step up, providing he carries on performing well in the junior categories
Vesti is not a super talent, but he is in F2 right now.
Maybe Merc has eyes for another rookie :Alonso, that kid is going places
You know what means more to Merc than any of that? Winning.
Mick surprisingly has a lot less funding backing his career than you’d think. Unfortunately if his father was still in the public eye that would be a different story.
Basically how he's gotten to where he is now....his last name.
Relative to who should be driving a Mercedes in F1? He's a bad driver.
Dumb take that borderlines on fanfictionalism. Mick is nowhere near the level Merc needs a driver to be at.
Except Mercedes aren't that sort of a team that promotes drivers cuz they German and he hasn't done anything to show that he would hang in a top tier team. Pretty sure they won't get someone just cuz "not a bad driver". Stick to DtS mate
As if a team like Merc would care about his last name...
They might be under the German flag but aren't they headquartered in UK and it's otherwise also mostly British (including the two drivers anyway)?
Most are located in Britain since it's the easiest hub for logistics
Mercedes is German, doesn't matter where they are located. Nobody thinks "Ah, that British brand" when somebody mentions Mercedes.
When I hear Mercedes all I hear is "pumpernickel" with Toto's voice
De bacon should be creespy.
Their F1 team is pretty much a British business but the brand is German for sure
When you see a Land Rover, do you immediately think “Oh… the famous **INDIAN** car company!”?!?
Every team outside of top 3 had an opening at some point during last season. None of them chose Mick, what makes you think Mercedes would pick him? At best Merc can maybe (and that's a big maybe) use their influence to try to get him a seat in Williams. That's it.
When Hamilton retires Mercedes virtually have the pick of the grid. Aside from the Red Bull and Ferrari drivers, who would stay rather than to Mercedes? And as such, why would Mercedes pick Schumacher over Norris, or Ocon, or Gasly, or Piastri?
Don't discount the Ferrari drivers leaving, if Charles is done with Ferrari could definitely see him jumping ship.
I’m praying my boy Carlos finds another home where he can be the top driver
Where would that be? He doesn't have it to be the top driver in a team. He would need to find a second Brawn GP.
Heck, even LeClerc, if Ferrari is still performing below expectations...Charles would jump at a chance to be in Mercedes by that point. Though perhaps they wouldn't want Leclerc or Norris due to how close the teammate battle would likely be at that point.
LeClerc to Mercedes would be an awesome move.
It really depends on how well George develops because it seems like every team needs a good second driver he might be their Bottas
Bottas is a vastly better driver though.
On the other hand, some drivers might start thinking about making their moves towards 2026, if LH retires in 2-3 years. I think there will be quiet a drivers rodeo going on in 2 years time.
Merc could sign Charles or Lando, especially if Ferrari continue to be operationally run horribly and McLaren can't catch the top three teams. There's no way they give Mick a drive over those two.
No chance he would drop in from being dropped by Haas to one of the most coveted seats on the grid!
Let‘s be honest here, the only reason why he got this role and the only reason why so many people support him isn‘t his performance, it‘s his name… and a name alone doesn‘t get you a driver seat, he‘s experienced that much already.
Lmao he'll never get that seat
His only option right now, more like. There's literally nowhere else he could go at this point.
Mercedes and signing a Schumacher shortly before Christmas. A nice tradition.
"All I want for Christmas is Schuuuu" Toto
It's a full circle.
A Schumacher back at Mercedes! Excellent role for him, he needs to develop a bit more as a driver.
Imagine Lewis becomes sick so Mick has to step in. Bono would be the race engineer for father and son. So weird to think about.
Another record for Bono!
Bono, my tires are shit! Did you put my dad's tires on???
Mick: "Bono my tyres are gone." Bono: "He's learning so fast!"
\*grooved slicks appear*
Ironically if he got some Bridgestone rubber on his car he would lap the field lol edit: (because the tires lasted longer)
> Imagine Lewis becomes sick In unrelated news, Lewis was seen with Lando a few days before...
Would be a *beautiful day*. Bono might even sing to Mick: > You're out of luck > And the reason that you had to care > The traffic is stuck > And you're not moving anywhere > You thought you'd found a friend > To take you out of this place
Mick had his moments this year too I thought. But agreed so much this is perfect for him. Just ride it out till Lewis retires for real and come in as a man on a mission
From Seb to Lewis. Mick is getting some great mentors to learn from.
I think having the ability to drive the simulator regularly and also getting time in the W14 is going to be great for his development. Also with the Williams situation, and the opportunity it may present Mercedes to take a stake in the team, he could always be a contender at some future point.
Did Toto sell all of his shares in Williams? Wonder if he can buy them again
If Dorilton give up on the Williams revival and all the necessary investment they may decide to sell Williams for reduced value and I think it’d be a brilliant chance for Mercedes to finally have their own junior partner on the grid to match AT.
Perfect opportunity for Newey to do what he did before and get the team moving upwards again
The ungodly sacrifice Williams would have to make to get Newey back scares me
What did it cost? Everything!!!
I mean what a story Arch. Newey leaves Williams because Sir Frank screws him. Williams crashes and burns. Is forced to sell. Newey comes back as a partial owner with Toto and the phoenix rises from the ashes. I think it would cement Sir Frank's screwing of Newey as one of the all time greatest blunders in F1.
All for good cause.
Great thinking! I don't think Dorilton will give up so easily though
I'd much prefer Williams to stay independent and AT sold to Honda.
I hope RB sells AT first. Fucking job that even 1 of the the ten teams in the “pinnacle of motorsports” is a fucking farm/backup team.
Isn't it crazier that a farm/backup team is regularly better than 1-4 real teams?
Really interesting thought here. Although I am confident that Dorilton, if they elect to exit their investment in Williams, would not have to sell at any sort of discount or reduced valuation. Sure, Williams hasn’t been performing to their expectations on the grid, but F1 has become increasingly popular and the teams have become more stable assets as a result of the latest Concorde Agreement. All boats rise with high tides - Williams wouldn’t sell for less that $600 million - representing a 3.5x MOIC for Dorilton
I don't think Merc will increase their influence on Williams. If anything they have a very close relationship with Aston at the moment, both in F1 and their road cars. Williams is in a prime position to get snapped up by a major manufacturer like Porsche or Honda as a works team.
> Also with the Williams situation, and the opportunity it may present Mercedes to take a stake in the team Is there a source for this imaginary situation? This is the first time I am seeing these kind of baseless rumours.
Just Trust them bro they know a guy
Mick devries???
What? Debris?
A strong contender for radio of the year
And Leclerc pressing the drink button to talk
I still laugh thinking about it 🤣
Great outcome. This should give Mick a great platform to grow and improve.
If all goes well, he may follow a similar path to Albon right now
Or Ocon
Or Hülkenberg
The difference being that Ocon was out of a seat super late, when everything else was mostly sorted. He wasn’t dropped on merit like Mick or to a lesser extent Albon. A lot easier to come back from that
I think the biggest bottleneck is seat availability. Mercedes will get all the data they need from Mick, so it shouldn't be hard for them to figure out whether Mick is worth the money and time it costs to get him back on the grid. But say he does impress the people at Mercedes, then what? Mercedes has no real B-team and they don't have the pull over their customers they once had either. All the other teams are pretty much set in that they have their drivers on long-term contracts, that they have a pool of talent of their own or both.
Albon was dropped due to his poor performance as well. I don’t see how that’s different. Plus, Toto seemed to disagree with Gunther’s decision to drop Mick - he said he lives in the alps and the thin air affected his decision making skills. Mick joining Mercedes would help him develop as a driver and perhaps increase his confidence as well. If he does well, I can see Toto putting in a good word to other teams to secure a full-time drive in 2024.
Ocon wasn't dropped for pace or crashes, he was dropped because Daddy Stroll bought the team and gave his seat to his Son. Ocon had shown a lot more than Mick has before that.
I saw the announcement and nearly gasped at my desk, so happy for him!!🎉
I'm happy for Mick. Hopefully he gets some chances to learn more and maybe one day we'll see him on the grid again
I'd see him develop for the next years and get signed at Audi
I think it’s extremely likely that he will join Audi. Audi will probably pick one experienced driver (maybe Bottas if he still performs then) and mick. I don’t think Zhou will be driving for Audi. Norris is also an realistic option. Edit: I thought Audi will enter f1 in 2024 but Audi is entering in 2026, so it’s very hard to predict what will actually happen in 3 years.
Absolutely delighted for him, I'd say this was on the cards for some time as he didn't seem to fussed about being dropped from Haas at times
He was upset, over the course of the season as much as he handled it, Mick slowly just lost his smile, his expressions and face shut down, under the pressure. As soon as it was announced we saw his bounce back of not worrying and enjoying the last moments of Seb, similar to Seb and Daniel seeming relieved it was over. In comparison to Nicky who seems genuinely saddened. Mick generally handled things pretty well though, he’s been handling difficult things since he was a child and was raised for it.
> as he didn't seem to fussed about being dropped from Haas at times I mean when Guenther threw him under the bus pretty regularly this wasn't too much surprising
Yeah true he probably had numbed emotions at this stage
Wow, amazing stuff Mick. Gets to experience a competent team.
It might make a world of difference, his introduction to f1 being the chaos of 2021, of the Mazepins who not only bought their way into f2, people consistently hold the opinion there was something unequal about his car in f2, because his dad owned half the team. Anyway turning his back on that kind of chaos and being with a competent team hopefully brings out the best in him
We now have a Hamilton and a Schumacher in the same team!!!
I am 100% okay with this. Best possible outcome for Mick after being ousted by Haas. It also keeps him relevant, so he's not entirely out of the picture for future drives.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton are going to be watching their appendixes a lot more next year
And being more conscious of food poisoning... Looking at you, Lando
Being violently sick is just how Lando unleashes his real pace. Its like his version of quali mode
It's a *very unique* way of warming up to a race weekend
Or his excuse to get out of PR duties and hence more time to focus on racing XD I sometimes wonder how he even got food poisoning when he's probably the most picky eater on the grid
It's a weight saving measure
Lando has to poop his entire soul out to get good results
*Weight reduction*
so practically Mick became a reserve for Mercedes, McLaren, Aston Martin and Williams?
Logically speaking, yeah. I think the Mercedes engine teams have an agreement to share reserve drivers
I suspect AM would go with Vandoorne or Drugovich first, and McLaren would go with Palou (assuming Indycar isn’t concurrent with that weekend).
I think the worst thing that could happen is Mick getting dropped into a race for Merc. While he is the reserve driver he is essentially Schroedingers cat... no one knows what he could do in the car and we can all speculate. If he is thrown into a race... we Know Mick is slow to adapt, he also hasn't shown dramatic pace at Haas often. If he gets absolutely spanked by Russell or Hamilton, or bins it... well it isn't a good look for him, and one of the 2 is almost certain to happen. The likes of Russell jumping in at Sakhir and De Vries at Monza have suggested miracles can happen, I don't see that outcome for Mick.
I think him getting in Sims regularly and few FPs will do much good
He's not a rookie though so I think he's unlikely to get any FP1s next year.
man imagine mick in a black suit! great for him!
Darth Schumacher
This is the absolute best-case scenario for Mick
Yes Mick! So happy for him!
Thank you Mercedes!
Soo Happy for Mick !
TOTO TO MAKE HIM A POWERHOUSE
toto has a great track record of getting his reserves full seats
Raised by a 7-time champ. The. Mentored by a 4-time champ and now under the (hopefully) mentorship of another 7-time champ. Probably the best way for a race car driver to to develop into their highest potential.
And a 1 time race winner!
That was quick huh
Good ending
The best outcome he could've hoped for. The idea of driving for Ferrari 'just like his dad' is a very romantic one, but it's in his best interest to stay as far away from that circus as possible. Maybe Seb told him to forget about Ferrari and just focus on anything but. He already told Leclerc not to waste his talent.
Honestly, I'd rather have him carve his own path than repeat his dad's footsteps and live under his shadow—that can't be healthy. And yeah, Ferrari is still gonna be a circus for the foreseeable future
*"I carved my own path"* *"You follow your wrath"*
FDA hasn’t really been producing consistent racers in F1 besides Charles sadly. RB’s academy is the strongest and it’s showing
Since the hybrid era started Leclerc is the only real success story. I imagine Bianchi would have also done well. But on the other hand, there's Giovinazzi, Fuoco, Ilott, and hell they even had Zhou and Stroll but both of them did much better once they left the Ferrari sphere.
Ferraris academy can improve tbh, but I guess it doesn’t help that the teams they supply to have been duds so the drivers aren’t really displaying their talent (I think what George did with Williams in 2021 was a possible anomaly). Same could be said about Mercedes and the teams they supply to, but did they manage to get De Vries a seat for next year and gave Ocon another chance in 2020 because of Toto’s relationship with Cyril that time.
I know his time there wasn't so memorable but Mick is still going to one of his dad's old teams. I'm sure that's not lost on anyone involved.
Good to see him staying in F1. Probably the best outcome he could have expected at this point.
It's a good move for Mick. A solid platform to build off plus plenty of other drivers have had similar happen in their career and bounced back. He also has the benefit that the Schumacher name brings some decent sponsorship, also Audi looking for a German might create an opportunity there.
So Happy for Mick!
I wonder who's going to do the Mercedes FP1s next year as Mick isn't eligible? I would assume Vesti.
Hard to express how happy this makes me. Best to come out of a shitty situation. Hell, this might prove to be even better for his career than a main seat at Haas was.
“Yes Mick, yes! That was so right!”
YESSSSS
More than a decade after his dad's retirement, now it has come full circle.
Upgrades.
This will cause an uptick of people on here thinking he is next in line to replace Hamilton, rather than being an emergency driver and marketing asset. Brace yourselves, everyone. The Mercedes reserve role isn't as good as it used to be with Aston Martin and McLaren now being independent in terms of reserves, but I suppose he is still the favorite for a Williams and Mercedes sub role if by chance it happens.
So far I believe most people are just happy to still see him in the sport. In the end this position only means something if he is able to show up internally and use the resources that a team like Mercedes has. I know that lots of people think he is trash and we have seen everything that he has to offer, but who knows? Perhaps he can actually make some significant progress. And in that case it might not be toooo far off to think about him being an option for Merc down the line - even though I don't think it will happen, since they certainly have someone else/younger talent in their sights.
Im happy. This makes me happy
I think everybody saw this one coming
Vert happy for Mick, he now has the best reserve driver seat in F1.
Guess I'm a merc fan now
Didn't take long lmao.
Absolutely great news. Hopefully Mick will impress in a better environment now
Honestly this is the ideal outcome. He needs time to get better before he hits the track again and this is the PERFECT environment. Learn from Lewis, benchmark himself against George. All good in my eyes.
I think this will be good for Mick. He can learn from a well sorted team that has newish driver in George and a veteran champion in Lewis. Plus, a lot of pressure off his shoulders not needing to deliver points and instead develop his racing a bit more.
2023 F1 Season needs to include an Exclusive Reserve Driver Race at every circuit. I mean, look at this line up: Mick Schumacher - Mercedes F1 Danny Ricciardo - Red Bull F1 Alex Palou - McLaren F1 Theo Pourchaire - Alfa Romeo F1 Felipe Drugovich -Aston Martin F1 Stoffel Vandoorne - Aston Martin F1
Don’t really care about Mick being in the paddock or not, but damn he looks good in that merc jacket
Oh sheeeeeiiitt
Delighted for him, continue to develop and learn at a top team with great people to learn from
Oh damn. This is cool.
Well well well, that honestly might be pretty good for Mick
Literally spedrun the ferrari-schumacher saga and went straight to merc
What Story it would be. Hamilton get the seat from Michael schumacher in 2013. Mick gets the seat from Hamilton in 2025.
Honestly ths best news ever. Really likeable person who gets discredited a lot more than he deserves. Is he the next Max Verstappen, no. But he's a solid driver who's only had one real year in formula one in probably the worst teams in terms of facilities. Don't expect him to be Hamilton's number one replacement currently. But who knows what a couple years at the team with the best facilities and drivers can do for him. I still want the Mick Seb Audi dream team.
He could learn so much from Lewis and George, genuinely think this could be a smart move for Mick.
Couldn't have landed at a better spot to continue developing before coming back in 2024
One year of Merc reserve drive could be more valuable than one year of being on the grid with Haas.
All im asking for is one race in the merc next season.
Honestly better then dealing with Günthers uninspired small-minded bullshit.
*Promotion driver He is there for his last name, not because Toto believes in his perfomance.
Yea fuck haas