F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Schumacher 'shocked' by insider view of Mercedes

Mick Schumacher admitted that he has been shocked to see how much work goes on behind the scenes in a Formula 1 team during race weekends since he started his new role as reserve driver for Mercedes.

Schumacher spent two seasons racing for Haas at the back of the grid before being dropped by the squad at the end of 2022, following a series of expensive mistakes that incurred the wrath of team boss Guenther Steiner.

But he's landed on his feet with his new role at Brackley, which has given the 24-year-old son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher a whole new perspective on the sport.

“It’s an interesting period for me as I get to look over and work with two fantastic drivers, which you don’t always get to do," he wrote in a diary piece for the Mercedes F1 website this week.

“I’ve learned a lot about what’s important in terms of approaching race weekends," he added "I feel like I’ve already gained so much knowledge to add to my skillset.

“I didn’t think I would have learned and gained so much so early into my role," he admitted, saying it had been "fascinating" working with the team's drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

In particular, Schumacher hadn't realised how much back-and-forth communication went on within the team during the race weekend when the driver is typically cocooned in the cockpit to a large degree.

“As a driver, you usually do not get to hear what is going on between all the engineers while you are out on the track," he admitted. "So listening in during the sessions has been extremely interesting.

“I was quite shocked at the season opener in Bahrain, I did not expect the sheer amount of exchange that happens," he said. “You don’t know what you’re missing until you are actually part of it.

“What I really appreciate in working with those engineers is that they are genuinely listening to you, and your opinion matters."

It's not just the facts and figures that have meant so much to Schumacher. His father was part of the team's original all-German driver line-up in 2010 alongside Nico Rosberg.

Michael had already retired from the sport by then but returned to the grid to help get the new works team up and running, a year after the manufacturer bought up surprise 2009 team champions Brawn GP as the basis for its new project.

"What is special from an emotional side is that many people who are working for the team now were working here when my dad was driving," said Mick.

"There’s still a lot of people I haven’t met but it’s been fun getting to know as many colleagues as I can," he added.

"I’ve been settling in great," he continued. "Everybody is just so open-minded towards me, and that made me feel welcome from the first moment I stepped into the factory in Brackley.

"I’ve spent a lot of time there in these first months. It’s a very impressive facility," he noted. “My main focus up to now has been working in the simulator.

©Mercedes

“The simulator team have been super kind to me and great to work with. It’s impressive to drive the sim because it’s just so advanced, and I have been pushing to do more.

"Because I have raced a car under this new set of regulations, I have a good understanding of how to drive them. That has helped me in my role so far and hopefully added value for the team.

"I will look to be an extra pair of eyes and resource to help with the development programme across the year.

" It’s not enough for me to just sit on the side-lines, I want to be helpful wherever I can. Of course, it’s not the real thing and I would love to be driving the W14!”

While he's happy with his current role for the trime being, Schumacher has made it clear in the past that he's seeking nothing less than a rapid return to the Grand Prix grid in a full-time capacity.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Ferrari and Mercedes admit to plank changes based on FIA’s TD

Ferrari and Mercedes have both modified their car’s floor element in Las Vegas to comply…

52 mins ago

Las Vegas GP: Hamilton continues on top in second practice

Lewis Hamilton put Mercedes on top of the timesheets for the second time in Las…

2 hours ago

2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix Free Practice 2 - Results

Full results from Free Practice 2 for the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas,…

2 hours ago

Leclerc confident Ferrari ‘has a shot’ at F1 Constructors’ title

Charles Leclerc believes that Ferrari has a genuine “shot” at beating rival McLaren to Formula…

3 hours ago

Komatsu: F1 teams united against Audi 2026 cost-cap offset

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has revealed that nine Formula 1 teams stand in opposition…

4 hours ago

Las Vegas GP: Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2 in trouble-free FP1

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell led the field in a chilly but trouble-free first practice…

5 hours ago