In February this year, McLaren announced that Mick Schumacher would be one of their reserve drivers as they share the reserve pool with Mercedes. This happened 2 months after Mercedes announced that the German driver would be a reserve driver for them. And well, he has been successfully completing his duties for both teams. Earlier this week, he tested for McLaren at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal. He has indicated an interest in driving for McLaren by praising the team after testing. With these comments and Daniel Ricciardo‘s AlphaTauri signing, the “Silly season” is underway. So one may wonder if Mick is placing his bets for his F1 return.

For the unversed, the “Silly Season” is a period that coincides with the summer break. This is the period where potential driver moves pop up in the media. Red Bull‘s decision to loan Ricciardo to AlphaTauri has begun the drama. Now, Schumacher’s post-testing comments are continuing it. Back in May, Schumacher tested for Mercedes in Barcelona. Then, he hadn’t made a lot of comments about it. But, now that he has tested Ricciardo’s race-winning MCL35M in Portimao, he looks overjoyed.

Schumacher said, as quoted by Speedweek, “McLaren is a highly professional team and it was interesting for me to see how they work, especially compared to Mercedes. It’s also nice to know that you are being listened to when you share impressions of driving. It’s important to me that I can climb into the cockpit as often as possible, so for me at McLaren, I’d love to do it again!” [translated via Google]

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Schumacher’s feelings for McLaren aren’t one-sided. Even McLaren CEO Zak Brown was all praise for the German racing driver.

Zak Brown Credits Mick Schumacher For Doing “An Excellent Job” in the McLaren

So, what Schumacher’s test proves is that he is ready to fit into the MCL60 on days when either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri can’t take part in a race. At Haas, he might have had a terrible time. But, in 2023, he is proving his worth to the top teams. Be it his simulator work for Mercedes or testing for McLaren, he has received only good feedback.

The latest to laud him is Zak Brown. “He has done an excellent job, so we are really happy with Mick,” said Brown, as quoted by Mirror. “Even as a reserve driver, whom we share with the other team, and he has really done a great job.”

Mick Schumacher is gaining some good experience working for two different teams. Though none of the teams would want their drivers to miss a race, if it happens, they can be assured that they have an equally good racer waiting in the wings.

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