BILD: Mr. Schumacher, how important is free time to you?
Mick Schumacher (24): I think everyone enjoys their free time. But since the Formula 1 season ended at the end of November, I’ve actually been on the road the whole time and haven’t spent a week somewhere in a row. I can’t sit still. Especially not during the only time when a racing driver’s calendar allows vacation.
Keyword calendar. You will also be a test and reserve driver at Mercedes in the new season. You will also compete eight times for Alpine in the “WEC” long-distance series. You can’t have many more appointments.
Mentally it will be a challenge. But I also get something in return: driving. And that’s what I love more than anything, that’s my passion. Finally wheel-to-wheel duels with other drivers again. This – this balance to the more intellectual work that I have at Mercedes – was missing last year. The anticipation is correspondingly great.
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What does your friend Laila say about this?
First and foremost, of course, she is happy for me. She knows how important it is that, in addition to working as a test and reserve driver, I also get behind the wheel in a competitive field again. And since the Grands Prix are in many beautiful places around the world, you can maybe hang out somewhere for a day or two (laughs). But the focus this year is clearly on sport. It certainly won’t be easy, but I want to recommend myself for a cockpit in Formula 1 again with good performances.
At the end of the season, the contracts of 14 of the 20 drivers expire.
The fact that the driver market is already quite active and that will continue to increase in the coming months could play into my hands. A lot will happen there. Not only will there be changes in the teams’ cockpits, but one or two drivers may also end their careers. And there is currently no talent emerging from the youth series. But it is clear that I am not getting anything for free. I’m the one who has to deliver.
Mick with girlfriend Laila in the paddock at Suzuka (Japan) in September 2023
Foto: Getty Images
You are entering your second season as a test and reserve driver. Is 2025 your last chance for a regular cockpit in Formula 1?
I haven’t really thought about it that much before. Of course you think about what the rough future might look like, but it doesn’t help you. I don’t even know what will happen in the next few weeks and months. And everything depends on that. Accordingly, I could tell you something now, but if we talk to you in the same place in a year, everything will probably have turned out completely differently. I stay very open to everything.
Do you deserve another chance in Formula 1?
And.
Why?
Because I know I have the skills for it. I am good enough. I showed that in Formula 4, Formula 3 and Formula 2. The fact that I won races and championships is quickly forgotten. I proved that in addition to driving, I can also handle pressure. And Formula 1 is not that different.
Baerbock moved to tears Moving Reif speech in the Bundestag
Source: BILD 02/02/2024
Your time at Haas, for which you drove in 2021 and 2022, was not considered a dream marriage. The team was in crisis, team boss Günther Steiner publicly criticized you several times. Has Formula 1 already seen Mick Schumacher’s full potential?
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In any case, people haven’t seen everything. I can do more. Of course, I am aware of the fact that many people have already written me off, especially on social media. But I think, even if that is part of today’s society, that they are too hasty. I can’t change people, but I can work on myself. I will give everything for my dream and fight until the end for a cockpit in Formula 1. If it’s still not enough, that’s just how it is. But then I have nothing to blame myself for.
What advantage do you have over other drivers in the fight for a cockpit?
First of all, you have to say that there is no driver in Formula 1 who is talent-free. What I do a little differently than most pilots – and I probably got this from Dad – is that I can lead a team in the right direction. I am a team player who rallies people behind me. Sure, we drive alone on the track, but you win as a team. Not many people in Formula 1 have this mentality. I think that would be an advantage for many team bosses. Especially since I was able to learn a lot at Mercedes.
For example?
In addition to the obvious things – like gaining insight into the work processes of a real top team – I learned above all that everyone has their insecurities. Even engineers who have been in the job for ten or 20 years sometimes doubt themselves and their ideas. These are just people who cook with water. This is also reflected in the drivers. If a team boss trusts his pilots and just lets them do it, they will deliver. As a driver you need this trust.
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And if you still don’t deliver?
Then you will rightly be replaced.
In an interview with SPORT BILD you once said that you like pressure because it means something is at stake. Do you put the most pressure on yourself?
In any case. My own expectations are high. I am my biggest enemy, but also my biggest supporter.
Let’s look at your new long-haul career. They will also drive in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. Does this make a lifelong dream come true?
It’s not really my life’s dream. That was always Formula 1. But Le Mans will still be something very special. Especially because I drive for a French team. This will definitely be my highlight of the year.