Former champion: “Door still open” for Mick Schumacher F1 return

Former Formula 1 champion Mika Hakkinen believes that the “door is still open” for Mick Schumacher to make a return to the sport. 

The son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher entered the sport in 2021 with Haas, driving alongside Russian driver Nikita Mazepin. However, the American team decided to part ways with Mick after the 2022 season following some costly crashes and the points difference between him and his teammate for that year, Kevin Magnussen. Haas signed Nico Hulkenberg in his place for 2023.

After his F1 exit, the German driver joined Mercedes as a reserve driver as well as moving to Alpine’s World Endurance Championship team. 

Although Schumacher hasn’t been successful in a return to F1 yet, he is still keen to make it happen. He previously stated:

“No, Formula 1 remains a dream. In my spare time, when I’m in the Alpine racing car or training in the simulator, the priority, with one hundred per cent of concentration, is on the long-distance project.”

Hakkinen believes that Schumacher could still make a return to the F1 grid. The two-time champion explained to Motorsport-Total:

“I think he still has a chance to return to Formula 1. The door is still open. You just have to talk to the right people.

“He has experience in Formula 1 and he has experience from various racing classes. And he is young. These are all good things, these are all positive factors.”

The Alpine WEC driver decided to part ways with the Brackley team at the end of 2024 to focus fully on his endurance project. Explaining his exit, Schumacher thanked the Brackley outfit but confirmed his commitment to returning to the cockpit full-time, commenting:

“I am grateful to Toto and the entire Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team for the insight I have gained over these two years.

“They have undoubtedly made me a more experienced racing driver because I have got to know the engineering side better. But watching these cars race and not sitting in the cockpit myself is tough.

“I want to get back to focusing 100% on racing. I want to be fully committed to the sporting side of motorsport. Ultimately, it is racing that you want to do as a driver, it is racing that gives you that feeling you love.”

Schumacher has been previously linked with Audi’s 2026 entry when it will fully take over the Sauber outfit. However, another opportunity lies with the Cadillac F1 team which has an agreement in principal to enter as an 11th team in 2026.