Toto Wolff believes F1 teams are missing out by not entrusting a race seat to the talent of Mercedes reserve driver Mick Schumacher.
The young German was picked up by Mercedes and handed a support role with the Brackley squad after losing his race seat with Haas at the end of last season.
Schumacher's current responsibilities include development work in the team's simulator and embedding with Mercedes on race weekends. But the 24-year-old was also given an opportunity to return to the track recently when he was assigned to a Pirelli tyre test in Barcelona.
At the Spanish Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both paid credit to Mick Schumacher for the sim work conducted on Friday evening in Brackley that helped improve Mercedes' form overnight in Barcelona.
©Mercedes
"It’s great to have a mature, successful and mature Formula 1 driver supporting us," said Wolff.
"In the sim with his feedback, that is a tremendous advantage, in some of the European grands prix, having him in the simulator overnight and providing data for the Saturday is a super advantage for us.
"And on the other side is that, if George or Lewis were to have fish poisoning – well, Lewis can’t have fish poisoning, it would be avocado poisoning – then we know we have a super guy that would drive the car well.
"And as much as I like the situation for the benefit of the team, I would every day of the week prefer that Mick sits in a cockpit and actually races."
Unfortunately, Schumacher's prospects of returning to the grid in 2024 still appear remote, and that's a situation that Wolff laments.
"I’m not even sure that we can facilitate [a seat], because every time we speak highly of him, somebody feels the need to say something negative," Wolff said.
"Wherever I can speak highly and praise Mick, that’s what I’m doing.
"But in the end, it’s every team’s authority to decide on their drivers, and I very much respect that contracts with the teams, whenever you have to take our junior driver, you have to take our reserve driver, because when I was at Williams, I also wanted to have my own choice.
"I think teams are missing out, to be honest. I think he was burned last year.
"You need to give and provide an environment that is different to every driver, all different human beings. And whoever gets him will have a very good pilot."
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