Mercedes reserve Mick Schumacher.
With the door seemingly closing for Mick Schumacher to join the F1 2025 grid, the Mercedes reserve is being linked with a move across the pond.
Schumacher spent two years on the Formula 1 grid with Haas off the back of winning the Formula 2 title, but was dropped at the end of 2022 as Haas opted to bring in veteran presence Nico Hulkenberg.
Mick Schumacher heading to IndyCar?
Schumacher has looked outside of Formula 1 as part of his 2024 racing programme, balancing his Mercedes reserve duties with the World Endurance Championship as part of the Alpine team, but now he is being linked with a new project over in the United States.
Prema Racing, a team which has achieved vast success in the junior categories – including Schumacher’s F2 title which was claimed with the Italian team – has announced that it will join the IndyCar series in 2025, with speculation now swirling that a Schumacher reunion is on the cards.
Auto Hebdo’s Gonzalo Forbes is widely reported to have made the claim that Schumacher could join Prema’s IndyCar charge, the French publication stating that Prema wants an experienced IndyCar racer and a fresh face from the European scene to form their line-up.
“He has never hidden his ambition to return to single-seaters,” Gonzalo Forbes reported. “The German could unite with the [team boss Rene] Rosin clan again for a possible return to service in IndyCar in 2025.”
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For Schumacher, the ambitions to race in F1 again have not fizzled out, but his former team boss at Haas Guenther Steiner feels that if Schumacher does not land a seat for 2025, then his chances of a comeback are likely over.
He told German publication BILD: “If it doesn’t work out next year, it will probably never work out again.
“He has to perform well in the WEC this season – then it can be a stepping stone.
“If he doesn’t race in Formula 1 next year, it will be three years without a cockpit.
“Sure, he was there for two years and is part of the new generation – but what use is that then? It would be extremely difficult if he was completely out for three years.”
Mercedes do have an F1 2025 seat up for grabs with Lewis Hamilton heading for Ferrari, though Schumacher has not been name-dropped among contenders such as Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
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