Mick Schumacher joins Mercedes as reserve driver for 2023 season

Mick Schumacher lost his seat at Haas to Nico Hulkenberg and will now be the reserve driver for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, a seat which opened up after Nyck de Vries took a seat at AlphaTauri

Mick Schumacher lost his Haas seat to Nico Hulkenberg

Mick Schumacher has joined Mercedes as their reserve driver for the 2023 season, the team have confirmed.

Schumacher, the son of seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael, lost his Haas seat to Nico Hulkenberg for the 2023 season but will now be the backup to Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

Daniel Riccardo was linked with the position, but he returned to Red Bull as their third driver, paving the way for the 23-year-old to join Mercedes. Schumacher’s father spent his final three seasons as an F1 driver with Mercedes.

Mercedes’ announcement came less than an hour after Ferrari confirmed they had parted ways with Schumacher, who was previously part of their driver academy and impressed through the ranks into F1.

He replaces Nyck de Vries in the role, with the Dutchman taking a full-time seat at AlphaTauri.

Speaking after the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Toto Wolff, said: “Mick is someone that has always been close to our heart because of Michael or the whole Schumacher family.

“He (Mick) is an intelligent, well-mannered young man. He’s been very successful in junior formulas. We believe that we can look after him if the situation were to happen and with someone that just fits the team.”

Wolff added to Sky Sports in Germany: “I think he deserves a place and now we have to see if we can do something.”

Schumacher joined Ferrari’s academy in 2019, leading to hopes that he could follow in the footsteps of his father by driving for the Italian team, but he has ended his association with the Italians.

After failing to score a point in a very slow Haas car in his debut campaign, Schumacher showed signs of improvement in 2022, finishing eighth and sixth in back-to-back races at Silverstone and the Austrian Grand Prix.

However, he was unable to add to that tally, and was outscored by team-mate Kevin Magnussen by 13 points.

More to follow.