Mick Schumacher’s bid at F1 return in Lewis Hamilton’s car on dad’s record track ends in disaster

Mick Schumacher’s chance of staking a claim to return to Formula 1 next year took a blow after his Pirelli test session was cut short.

The German driver, son of F1 icon Michael Schumacher, was behind the wheel of the Mercedes W15 just days after his sister’s wedding.

Schumacher was afforded 57 fewer laps than Russell in Mercedes’ W15Getty

The 25-year-old was in attendance at his family’s luxury villa in Majorca for his sibling Gina-Maria’s nuptials on Saturday.

By Tuesday morning, Schumacher participated in a testing session for Mercedes which was held at the Magny-Cours circuit in France.

The venue, which last hosted the French Grand Prix in 2022, would have been especially symbolic with his dad Michael winning there EIGHT times with Ferrari during his career.

That was previously the outright record for most wins from an F1 driver at a single circuit until Lewis Hamilton‘s ninth Silverstone triumph in July.

Ironically, it was in the W15 which Hamilton used to achieve that accolade that Schumacher’s son was testing at Magny-Cours.

However, inclement weather conditions meant Mick managed just 29 laps in the Brit’s car, with a fastest time of 1m 39.172s.

It could prove a hammer blow to his hopes of earning the final available spot on F1’s grid for 2025, with little data to pull from.

Schumacher was relieved of his duties by George Russell on Wednesday, who completed 86 laps at a personal best of 1m 28.428s.

The Swiss-born racer has acted as a reserve driver for the Silver Arrows since losing his seat on the F1 grid with Haas.

Schumacher’s Haas tenure was overshadowed by big crashesAFP

Schumacher’s primary involvement with the Brackley-based team sees him conduct regular work in the simulator at their headquarters.

Time on track in the actual car is limited to select tyre sessions throughout the year but present the best opportunity to impress.

Schumacher was undergoing wet weather tyre testing for 2025 – Mercedes’ first without Hamilton – on an artificially soaked track.

The torrential downpour on the circuit meant the track was too wet to continue the session and thus made it impossible to understand his pace.

He was driving at the same track his dad Michael won eight times in F1Getty

Schumacher will now have to wait for another opportunity to showcase his skills in an F1 car with hopes of a return fading fast.

Hopes were high for the son of one of F1’s greatest ever when he was snapped up by Haas in 2020 after becoming Formula 2 champion.

A combination of several high-profile crashes and the American team’s struggles with their car resulted in Schumacher finishing in the points just twice across his two seasons on the grid.

He has since been languishing in F1 wilderness waiting on a return, with only one spot still available at Sauber – soon to be Audi in 2026.

Schumacher (right) is part of the Alpine Endurance team with hopes of returning to F1 unlikelyGetty

Schumacher lost out to Jack Doohan to partner Pierre Gasly at Alpine after both tested at the Paul Ricard Circuit ahead of the British Grand Prix, despite competing for the team in the FIA World Endurance Championship this year.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff then pushed hard for Schumacher to replace Logan Sargeant at Williams once the latter was axed.

Williams have strong links to the Silver Arrows as they share an engine and are led by James Vowles, who was the motorsport strategy director at Mercedes before becoming team principal in Oxfordshire.

Schumacher was left disappointed again as Argentine Franco Colapinto was chosen to complete the 2024 season, with Carlos Sainz already locked to partner Alex Albon next year.