Mick Schumacher appears set to continue his racing career exclusively outside of Formula 1, focusing only on endurance racing with Alpine in 2025.
After Audi-owned Sauber chose rookie Gabriel Bortoleto over Schumacher or Valtteri Bottas for its 2025 Formula 1 lineup, Audi F1 boss Mattia Binotto remarked, "I know him (Schumacher) very well from the past and I know his strengths and perhaps also his weaknesses." He added that Schumacher would have been a "good choice" among "many candidates."
Since his F1 racing departure following the 2022 season, when former Haas team principal Gunther Steiner chose not to renew his contract citing poor performance and crashes, Michael Schumacher's son has served as a F1 reserve for Mercedes while racing with Alpine in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) this year.
Now, with Bottas likely to step into the Mercedes reserve driver role, Mick's F1 options appear limited. His uncle, Ralf Schumacher, acknowledged that a return to the F1 grid now seems "rather unrealistic." Ralf added, "The question is, who will be the substitute drivers and where? Or will he now concentrate on his endurance career instead?"
German F1 analyst Christian Danner suggested that Mick might consider a future in IndyCar, but Auto Motor und Sport reported that Alpine is waiting for Schumacher to simply sign an extension of his WEC commitment through 2025.
According to Kronen Zeitung, Mick also received an offer from Ferrari for a seat in its WEC program, given his connection with the marque from his time in the Ferrari Driver Academy. However, the report added, "The decision ultimately went in favour of the Briton Philip Hanson" as Ferrari required Schumacher to bring sponsorship to secure the seat.
Despite the pivot to endurance racing, Schumacher may find himself among high-profile company at next year's Le Mans 24 Hour. Porsche's WEC boss, Urs Kuratle, hinted that they might have room for a well-known name - Sebastian Vettel.
"We are short of one driver, that is mathematically true," Kuratle confirmed to sportscar365. When asked directly about Vettel, he responded, "I'm not ruling it out."
Bernie Ecclestone recently revealed that he discouraged the 37-year-old Vettel from making a Formula 1 comeback. "I had to talk him out of his comeback dreams," Ecclestone, now 94, told Blick newspaper. "Why should a four-time world champion put himself through that?"
