Toto Wolff has suggested that Mick Schumacher’s career path could mirror that of Nyck de Vries, after the German took on a role at Mercedes for 2023.
Schumacher was dropped by the Haas F1 squad at the conclusion of the 2022 campaign as the US-owned squad opted to take on the experience of Nico Hulkenberg.
Schumacher will be present at all races throughout the year as he assists Mercedes with the development of its W14 car.
The 23-year-old is effectively replacing Nyck de Vries, who secured a full-time drive with the AlphaTauri team after an impressive debut for Williams at last year’s Italian Grand Prix.
De Vries was part of the Mercedes organisation for a handful of years, carrying out F1 duties for it in conjunction with his drive for the team in Formula E, where he was crowned World Champion in 2021.
Wolff has backed Schumacher to return to the F1 grid and reignite his career in a similar fashion to de Vries.
“The most important factor is his personality,” Wolff said, regarding Schumacher. “He’s a well-educated, intelligent and talented young man.
“You see his junior career track record, that was very good. I believe that if we can give him a safe environment to further develop, he can be a good racing driver in a permanent seat in the future.
“In the same way that we have let Nyck de Vries go in order to achieve a career, that could be something that could happen to Mick – whether it is our team or let him go somewhere else, we don’t know at this stage.”
Mercedes enters the 2023 season hoping to be on a more competitive level compared to last year when it secured just one race victory.
Wolff says that Schumacher’s experience with the current generation of car will be a significant benefit to Mercedes.
“Where he will massively contribute is that he has driven the car, the new car, for a year,” he said.
“He has been in F1 for two years. He knows the tyres, knows the difficulties in the car’s inherent DNA, of the current F1 generation of cars.
“He would be super helpful in the simulator and in assessing the car overall. It will be good to have him at the track in the debriefing room and he’s a credible young racing driver.
“From that perspective, we have definitely gained with Mick joining the team.”
