Mick Schumacher’s final hope of returning to Method 1 subsequent 12 months has formally been extinguished.
The German driver, son of F1 icon Michael Schumacher, was ignored for an F2 expertise to fill the vacant seat at Sauber.
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Schumacher Jr. harbored ambitions to type F1’s first all-German lineup since his father joined Nico Rosberg at Mercedes.
Sarcastically, the 25-year-old is a present reserve driver for the Silver Arrows and was seeking to substitute one other latest Mercedes hero, Valtteri Bottas.
The latter misplaced his seat at Sauber alongside Zhou Guanyu for the 2025 season, and Nico Hulkenberg has already agreed to return to the workforce from Haas.
Schumacher had hoped to associate together with his compatriot, however Sauber, which will likely be renamed Audi from 2026, opted to go along with Gabriel Bortoleto.
F2 championship chief Bortoleto, who gained the F3 title final 12 months, has been launched from McLaren’s junior workforce to hitch their Swiss-based rivals.
He’ll be a part of present F2 foes Oliver Bearman (Haas) and Kimi Andrea Antonelli (Mercedes) to safe promotion to motorsport’s elite.
The 20-year-old has grow to be the primary full-time Brazilian driver to be in F1 since Lewis Hamilton’s former title rival Felipe Massa.
Former Ferrari star Massa retired in 2017 however is at the moment concerned in a lawsuit in opposition to F1, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone in the course of the 2008 season and is in search of greater than $80 million in damages.
The winner of 11 Grand Prix misplaced that 12 months’s championship within the final spherical, which was additionally held in his house nation, to Hamilton, who secured the primary of his seven at McLaren.
If Massa’s attraction fails, Brazil’s hopes of discovering a primary world champion driver since icon Aryton Senna will fall on Bortoleto’s shoulders.
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Nonetheless, Schumacher’s goals of emulating his personal father’s legacy within the sport are all however over for good.
German automotive giants Audi, which has already purchased the Kick Sauber workforce and can change its title for F1’s new engine rules in 2026, have been contemplating Schumacher as an possibility for subsequent 12 months.
The son of a nationwide icon would have generated huge sponsorship curiosity within the workforce, which is final within the constructors’ standings.
Schumacher tried to reveal his viability as a candidate throughout a latest Mercedes tire take a look at simply days after his sister’s wedding ceremony.
Nonetheless, adversarial and moist climate situations on the Magny-Cours circuit meant his session with the W15 ended early, leaving little information to attract from.
The venue, which final hosted the French Grand Prix in 2022, would have been particularly symbolic as his father Michael gained there EIGHT instances with Ferrari throughout his profession.
Beforehand, that was the all-time document for many wins by an F1 driver at a single circuit till Hamilton’s ninth triumph at Silverstone in July.
Sarcastically, it was within the W15 that Hamilton achieved that award that Schumacher’s son was testing at Magny-Cours.
Sauber hinted that age was an element within the decision-making, with Bortoleto being 5 years youthful than Schumacher.
Sauber technical and operations director Mattia Binotto mentioned: “I have been asking some drivers who’ve been driving with you they usually have been all very impressed. But additionally since you are very younger.”
“For our journey within the Audi F1 workforce, rising along with a younger driver was essential.
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“Once we met, I used to be instantly impressed by the perspective. So we selected him not solely as a driver, but additionally as an individual. He can actually be a frontrunner for the workforce.”
Its announcement has dealt a blow to Schumacher’s hopes of incomes the final out there spot on the F1 grid by 2025.
Schumacher has acted because the Silver Arrows’ reserve driver since shedding his F1 grid seat to Haas in 2022.
Hopes have been excessive for the son of one of many biggest in F1 historical past when Haas signed him in 2020 after turning into F2 champion.
A mixture of a number of high-profile accidents and the American workforce’s issues with its automotive resulted in Schumacher ending within the factors solely twice in his two seasons on the grid.
Since then he has been languishing within the F1 wilderness awaiting his return, finishing up simulator work for Mercedes at their Brackley-based headquarters.
Schumacher misplaced out to Jack Doohan to associate Pierre Gasly at Alpine after the pair examined on the Paul Ricard circuit forward of the British Grand Prix, regardless of competing for the workforce within the FIA World Endurance Championship this 12 months.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff then pushed onerous for Schumacher to interchange Logan Sargeant at Williams as soon as the latter was sacked.
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Williams has sturdy hyperlinks with the Silver Arrows as they share an engine and are run by James Vowles, who was director of motorsport technique at Mercedes earlier than turning into workforce principal at Oxfordshire.
Schumacher missed out once more when Argentine Franco Colapinto was chosen to finish the 2024 season, with Carlos Sainz already secured as Alex Albon’s associate subsequent 12 months.
