Former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has told Mick Schumacher to “wake up from a dream” and forget about making a return to the series.
Schumacher was axed by Haas at the end of last season after two years with the team, having been responsible for three notable crashes in 2022 that reportedly totalled $2 million in crash damages.
The German driver was replaced by compatriot Nico Hulkenberg, who has gone on to impress heavily since marking his return from a three-year hiatus.
Meanwhile, Schumacher was left without an alternative drive and instead joined Mercedes to become the German marque’s reserve driver for 2023.
While Schumacher has insisted he’s already held talks with teams about a potential 2024 seat, Ecclestone has advised the 24-year-old to consider other avenues.
“He has to forget about this dream because sooner or later we all wake up from a dream,” Ecclestone told German broadcaster RTL.
“He has to forget about that and start thinking about what the alternative is and try to pursue that.”
Ecclestone has also touted that Schumacher made the wrong choice in going to Mercedes in a deputy role to Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
Instead the 92-year-old believes that Red Bull would have been a better destination for him, contending the Austrian outfit could have provided what Schumacher needs.
“He needs someone who will really want to make him succeed and look after him in general,” the Briton added. “That’s what he needs and that’s what he wasn’t getting where he was driving.
“The only team that could do for him what he really needs is Christian [Horner].”
However, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has previously been on record stating he would be prepared to help Schumacher secure a full-time return to the grid – even if that meant letting the German depart the Mercedes stable altogether.
Mercedes agreed to let Nyck de Vries – its former reserve driver – move to Red Bull to fill a vacant seat at AlphaTauri for this year alongside Yuki Tsunoda.
After a season where Haas was routed to the back of the grid and his team-mate was a hugely uncompetitive Nikita Mazepin, Schumacher’s sophomore campaign began on the backfoot by suffering a high-speed crash in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that ruled him out of the race.
That incident arrived after the 2020 Formula 2 had been usurped by Kevin Magnussen delivering fifth place on his return to the sport in the sister Haas car while Schumacher came home outside the points.
Despite scoring successive points finishes – his first in F1 – at the British and Austrian Grands Prix, Schumacher would fail to add to his tally across the remaining 11 rounds of the year, ending up a lowly 16th in the Drivers’ standings.
