Mick Schumacher ‘could be handed F1 lifeline at Audi’ after Mattia Binotto’s arrival

Mick Schumacher could be handed a route back into Formula One with Sauber – soon to be Audi – next year.

The German driver, son of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher , was dropped after two difficult years at Haas at the end of the 2022 season.

Since then, the 25-year-old has been combining his role as a reserve driver with Mercedes alongside racing for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship this year.

However, as Schumacher emphasised to The Independent in June, his primary goal remains a return to the F1 grid and a surprise route back into the sport could be in the offing.

The recent appointment of former Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto as chief technical officer at Sauber could work in Schumacher’s favour as the team, soon to be Audi, decide who to partner Nico Hulkenberg with next year.

Binotto knows Schumacher well from the driver’s time in the Ferrari Driver Academy, where he graduated from in 2021 to join Ferrari-powered Haas. Schumacher was still in the Scuderia ecosystem when he won the GP2 (now F2) title in 2020.

German publication Auto Motor und Sport suggest the risk in signing Schumacher would be “relatively low”, as they could replace him if he doesn’t perform before Audi formally join F1 in 2026.

Schumacher revealed to The Independent two months ago that he is not willing to let go of his “dream” to return to F1 as he eyes a second opportunity.

“It’s never been a secret, my goal is to be back on the grid,” he said. “I’ve shown in multiple ways that I am capable of winning championships. It’s just a matter of it fitting into somebody’s schedule, does it fit into their plan?

“There’s a lot which hasn’t been seen yet, especially from a driving point of view.

“I understand how I could have improved [at Haas], and there’s a lot more to show from my side. It’s all about, what do you want in your team right now? Do you want somebody who you can build a team around? Good for marketing? Purely shut up and drive? There are so many different types of drivers.

“As for me, I’m really hungry for it. I just need to keep performing in WEC, showing everybody what I can do. Then people will know what they get if they hire me, and hopefully I’ll be able to prove to everybody that they made the wrong decision in not keeping me.”

The 2024 F1 season resumes after the summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on 23-25 August.