Mick Schumacher Is Embracing His Hope As Team Decides To…

With a surname like Schumacher in motorsport, you might think there’s a lot of
pressure. But for Mick Schumacher, there’s nothing but pride. Son of the
seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher, the 24-year-old is
currently a reserve driver for the Mercedes team, which is headed up by Lewis
Hamilton and George Russell.

After making his F1 debut for the 2021 season, Mick raced in the pinnacle of
motorsport for two years before making the switch to this new role with
Mercedes in ’23. Keeping himself incredibly busy with countless hours on the
team’s simulator to make the car the best it can be, the German is still
learning and keeping himself ready for a comeback.
Schumacher has spent the 2023 F1 season as a reserve driver with Mercedes.
Courtesy of Mercedes

Sports Illustrated: How are you finding life at the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1
team, Mick?

Mick Schumacher: It’s obviously a very different role from being a full-time
driver to a reserve driver, but they’ve treated me so well and brought me into
the sport so well in a different role. It’s all about learning, so that’s what
I really appreciate.

SI: What are the key responsibilities that you’re doing?

MS: In the European races, it’s really about the simulator so I’ll be doing
the sim overnight support. So that’s been a key point for me, where I feel like
I could contribute the most. Then obviously, on these races here, it’s just
about being present, being in the meetings, trying to have input on things like
when we do the Pirelli Hot Laps for guests—for example, I noticed it was very
bumpy. So that’s something that I can directly share with the drivers and with
the team, and hopefully help them for the practice time they have to prepare
the car.

SI: Are there any new challenges you’ve faced when taking on this role?

MS: You get that you get presented with a big piece of cake, and then you
aren’t actually allowed to eat it! It’s obviously a bit of an unfortunate
position to be in because I’d much rather be racing. But on the other hand, I’m
grateful for the opportunity to be part of this team to be able to learn from
them and hopefully become a better racing driver mentally.

SI: This is a team that has a lot of connection to the Schumacher name, with
your father racing here from 2010 until his retirement in ‘12. How special is
it to be a part of this team?

MS: It’s great. You know, you can see what my dad has put into a team. It’s so
visible, and you still feel them today. I mean, 80% of the team in the
engineering office seems like they are still the same. What was it, more than
10 years? Yeah, it’s great to see all of them and be working with them now.