After 2 disappointing seasons in F1, Mick Schumacher was shown the exit doors by Haas. But his F1 journey didn’t end there as Mercedes signed him as a reserve driver for 2023. But a recent revelation by AlphaTauri Boss Franz Tost shows how Schumacher could have been racing on the F1 tracks, instead of on Mercedes’ simulator.

In 2022, AlphaTauri’s second seat was left vacant after Pierre Gasly signed with Alpine for 2023. Tost considered Schumacher as a replacement, but unfortunately, it was not to be. Dr. Helmut Marko, head of Red Bull’s driver development programme, had the final say. He rejected Schumacher’s candidacy because he had been a part of Ferrari’s Driver Academy. And in replacement, he finalized Nyck de Vries as the 2nd driver for AlphaTauri.

In an interview with formel1.de, Tost clarified his stance, saying, “For us, it was open after this Pierre Gasly story came to light, because it was originally clear to me that our driver pairing would be Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda. Then, all of a sudden, Pierre was given to Alpine, and that left us with a seat. Until Monza, it was completely unclear who our driver would be. And that’s when I logically thought of Mick Schumacher.”

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Franz Tost also said that Schumacher is “much better than he is currently perceived in the outside world.” But he quickly closed the conversation by saying, “We’re now racing with Nyck de Vries […] and there’s really nothing more to discuss.”

Though the young German did not secure a seat for 2023, he has been putting in good work for Mercedes.

Mick Schumacher Impresses the Mercedes Drivers

Mercedes found their rhythm back at the Spanish GP, with both drivers finishing on the podium. Following the race, both drivers gave due credit to Mick Schumacher for his impressive simulator work.

Lewis Hamilton said, “We’ve got a great team, with Mick back in the simulator on Friday night and he did some great work, which helped us get on the right track on Saturday.” Even Russell praised Schumacher and the simulator team for working overnight to improve the car setup.

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Schumacher has worked hard and been lucky enough to be picked up by Mercedes. Do you think we might see ‘MSC’ make a comeback on the time charts in the future?