Mick Schumacher speaks out on F1 return after Cadillac approval

Mick Schumacher has responded to two-time Formula 1 champion Mika Hakkinen's recent comments that he could make a return to the grid. 

The Finnish former driver argued that "the door is still open" for Schumacher and that he needs to "talk to the right people." He explained:

"I think he still has a chance to return to Formula 1. The door is still open. You just have to talk to the right people.

"He has experience in Formula 1 and he has experience from various racing classes. And he is young. These are all good things, these are all positive factors."

This came after the German driver lost his seat with Haas F1 at the end of the 2022 season after two years with the team.

After his exit from a full-time seat in 2022, the son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher signed with Mercedes as a reserve driver while also taking part in Alpine's World Endurance Championship programme. This year, the driver is focused on his WEC commitments while also remaining hopeful for a return to F1 in 2026. While speaking to Planet F1  following the Race of Champions in Sydney, Australia, Schumacher explained:

“Of course, it’s nice to hear that from Mika. He knows the sport very well.

Mick Schumacher, Reserve Driver, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, for Pirelli hot laps

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

“As I’ve said in interviews before, I feel like I have what it takes for F1. We’ll see what happens; the year is still long, and my goal is to return in 2026. We’ll see what unfolds.”

An opportunity opened up to Schumacher this week as the Cadillac F1 team was officially confirmed to be entering the sport in 2026. Although there has been talk of one of the seats going to an American driver, it is very possible that they could opt for someone with some F1 experience. Cadillac F1 team principal Graeme Lowdon spoke about the upcoming driver lineup after the announcement was made, stating:

“There’s some very talented drivers still out there. We hadn’t been able to be in the driver market until the entry was confirmed. Now it has, we can move forward with that.

“In terms of timing, we’re not putting any timeline on driver announcements or anything like that but for sure, there will be in time. For sure we’re going to hire drivers based on merit. But as such, we see no reason why we won’t have American drivers in time.

“There’s nothing preventing a driver being selected on merit and being American. I think that would be something that a lot of fans would really want to see as well. At the end of the day, the Cadillac Formula 1 Team is based in the US. We have an operation in the UK, but it’s headquartered in the US and it is a US team as well.

“I’m fairly sure that hiring on merit and having a US driver are entirely compatible objectives for the team.”