Fresh hope for Mick Schumacher as ‘low-risk’ F1 return option emerges – report

Mick Schumacher’s name is increasingly cropping up in conversations over Audi’s F1 2025 driver line-up, it has been claimed.

Audi, who will take over the existing Sauber team in time for F1’s new regulations in 2026, are still searching for a team-mate for Nico Hulkenberg for next season.

Mick Schumacher to return in all-German Audi F1 2025 lineup?

The German manufacturer had made no secret of their desire to sign outgoing Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who announced last month that he will join Williams for F1 2025.

That blow came after Audi saw second-choice option Esteban Ocon swap Alpine for Haas next season, forcing Sauber to consider alternatives to partner Hulkenberg.

Audi has announced a number of high-level management changes over recent weeks, with former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto appointed to the dual role of chief operating and technical officer.

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Binotto has effectively replaced ex-McLaren boss Andreas Seidl, who was dismissed along with Audi chairman Oliver Hoffmann after persistent rumours of a power struggle between the pair.

Audi has also appointed Jonathan Wheatley to the position of team principal, with the current Red Bull sporting director set to begin his new role in July 2025 at the latest.

A report by German publication Auto Motor und Sport has claimed that Binotto’s arrival could see Schumacher being handed an unexpected F1 reprieve, with the 25-year-old “mentioned more frequently” in discussions over Audi’s F1 2025 driver pairing.

Binotto was the head of Ferrari when Schumacher came through the Scuderia’s junior academy, winning the prestigious F2 (formerly GP2) title in 2020 before being promoted to F1 with customer team Haas in 2021.

Schumacher, the son of seven-time World Champion Michael, was dropped by Haas at the end of the 2022 season after struggling alongside team-mate Kevin Magnussen and currently combines the role of Mercedes reserve driver with a race seat in Alpine’s World Endurance Championship operation.

Having missed out on Sainz and Ocon, it is said that Audi were already swaying towards considering young drivers under the previous regime, with Binotto’s relationship with Schumacher enhancing the German driver’s hopes.

Schumacher parted company with Ferrari in December 2022, two days after Fred Vasseur was confirmed as Binotto’s replacement as team principal.

Schumacher, who previously carried out testing for Sauber (then Alfa Romeo) in 2019, is described as a ‘relatively low-risk option’ for Audi, who ‘would be celebrated’ for giving the star another chance in F1 following his challenging spell at Haas.

The news of Audi’s interest in Schumacher comes after it emerged that reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou, who was previously linked to McLaren, is also a surprise contender to become Hulkenberg’s team-mate.

Audi are also known to be keeping tabs on Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson, who impressed in a five-race cameo for the injured Daniel Ricciardo in mid-2023.

PlanetF1.com understands that a clause in Lawson’s contract will allow him to walk away from Red Bull entirely if he is not promoted to a permanent seat with either Red Bull Racing or VCARB for F1 2025, with the team’s option on the New Zealander believed to expire in September.

Long-serving Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko recently appeared to confirm this, revealing that a decision on Lawson’s future will be communicated next month.

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