Formula 2 points leader Mick Schumacher will graduate to Formula 1 next season after being confirmed as part of the Haas team’s 2021 line-up.
The son of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher will partner fellow F2 driver Nikita Mazepin, announced yesterday by the team. Haas recently decided to release existing drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen at the end of this season.
Schumacher, part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, heads into this weekend’s F2 finale with 14-point-lead over fellow academy member Callum Ilott, having won two races and scored ten podium finishes this season.
Following the F2 season, the German will get his first outing for Haas in FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this month. He had been due to run for the team in FP1 at October’s Eifel Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, but the session was cancelled due to bad weather. He will also drive the car again in Abu Dhabi during the post-season F1 young driver test.
If he is crowned F2 champion, it will be Schumacher’s second title in single-seater racing, having won the 2018 FIA Formula 3 Euroseries championship for Prema, the team he has also competed for in F2.
Prior to his F3 success, he competed in Formula 4 in both Germany and Italy, finishing runner-up in both championships in 2016, having raced in karts until the end of 2014.
“The prospect of being on the Formula 1 grid next year makes me incredibly happy and I’m simply speechless,” said Schumacher.
“I would like to thank Haas F1 Team, Scuderia Ferrari and the Ferrari Driver Academy for placing their trust in me. I also want to acknowledge and extend my love to my parents – I know that I owe them everything. I have always believed that I would realise my dream of Formula 1.
“A huge thank you must also go to all the great motorsport fans out there who have supported me throughout my career. I will give it my all, as I always do, and I look forward to going on this journey together with Haas F1 and them.”
“I’m very pleased that we’re able to confirm Mick Schumacher in our driver lineup for next season and I look forward to welcoming him into the team,” added Team Principal Guenther Steiner,
“The Formula 2 Championship has long served as a proving ground for talent to showcase their credentials and this year’s field has undoubtedly been one of the most competitive in recent seasons. Mick has won races, collected podiums and excelled against some pretty exceptional talent in 2020.
“I firmly believe he’s earned the opportunity to graduate into Formula 1 based on his performances. We have an opportunity ahead of us, as a team, to evaluate and nurture a new driver given our familiarity with our race package heading into 2021.
“We are putting in place our building blocks for the continued long-term growth of the team and I look forward to Mick’s contributions both on and off the track in that process.”
Featured image credit: formula1.com
