Mick Schumacher Vows to Use Mercedes Lessons for the Benefit of Alpine

After a year on the sidelines in F1, Mick Schumacher will be driving for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2024. However, the German prodigy was not completely out of action in 2023, owing to his reserve driver duties at Mercedes. He now hopes to use the lessons learned during his stint at the Silver Arrows as an Alpine WEC driver.

According to GP Blog, Schumacher stated, “Maybe on the driving side, as I haven’t been driving, it’s kind of difficult to work on it. But in general, still taking all that information that I’ve been given from Mercedes, but also just by observing. Yes, I definitely feel like I’ve taken a step forward.”

Schumacher was eager to return to the F1 paddock with a full-time drive following his disappointing spell at Haas. However, there was no seat available for the 2024 season. The Williams’ seat of Logan Sargeant was the only hope for the German driver until the American extended his deal.

But, barring that, there was little hope of securing a seat elsewhere. Therefore, Schumacher decided to move to the WEC even before Williams confirmed that Sargeant had extended his contract. Schumacher too admitted that since it seemed unlikely that he will get an F1 seat, he decided to sign with Alpine in WEC when he received the opportunity.

However, despite efforts from the Mercedes boss, Schumacher could not secure a seat for an F1 return. Wolff reportedly attempted to convince Williams‘ boss James Vowles to sign him. Moreover, Schumacher even did a simulator test to improve his chances of getting that seat at the Grove outfit.

However, Vowles reportedly did not even consider Schumacher as the best alternative for Logan Sargeant. Instead, he had his eyes on 2021 F2 champion Felipe Drugovich.

Meanwhile, even current F2 drivers like Frederik Vesti and Theo Pourchaire were in contention. However, with Williams now confirming Sargeant as their driver in 2024, the F1 grid remains unchanged for the first time in history.