The Mercedes boss has denied that he persuaded the Red Bull boss to hire Mick Schumacher. Toto Wolff continues to try to help his valuable reserve rival get back on the field.
Mick Schumacher, who was forced off the field at the end of last year, will spend the 2023 season with Mercedes, but ideally he won’t stay there for long, because he wants to return to the active field in 2024. Whether he will be able to do this is a big mystery. – and remains an interesting topic for the German press.
Before the Canadian weekend that is F1 Insider It reported that Schumacher’s current boss, Toto Wolff, recently visited Red Bull’s sporting director Oliver Mintzlaff to try to convince them to sign Schumacher for their B team, Alpha Tauri, as Nyck de Vries has so far failed to put in a convincing performance.
On the subject, the paper also quotes Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, who also hinted at a possible meeting and then remarked that it was strange that Wolff was smiling at them while he was “drilling” against them on the political battlefield.
The Austrian was also asked last weekend in Canada about the alleged meeting between Wolf and Mintslav, but he did not want to talk about it. “I will not comment on this.” Marco added that he did not know the details.
According to some (such as Ralf Schumacher), he is the main obstacle for Schumacher to join the Red Bull circuit, but Marko again denied that he had a personal problem with Mick Schumacher or the Schumacher name. “I don’t have a problem with that, it just doesn’t suit us.” – said the Austrian, who considers Michael Schumacher the best of all time.
Wolfe was even more forthright about the rumors in Montreal: He made it clear that he wasn’t looking for a Muntzlaf.
“I never spoke to the Red Bull management about whether they would have a place for Mick. It would be a waste of time anyway.”
He said.
Some people think that it would be strange if Wolff, on the one hand, believed in Schumacher’s abilities, and on the other hand, would try to attach him to the main opponent, thereby strengthening the opposing camp.
Toto Wolff and Mick Schumacher (Photo: XPB)However, Wolff has a good opinion of Schumacher. With a much better opinion than Gunther Steiner, who was constantly criticizing him last year, which, in his opinion, greatly damaged the judgment of the young competitor.
“Honestly, I feel like they burned it last year.” Said the head of Mercedes. “I think whoever wants him will get a good competitor. But in the end, the other teams will have to decide for themselves which rider to choose. I also can’t ask the teams to sign our competitors with whom we have a contract. I think they are missing out on an opportunity.” – he said, referring to the partner teams with Mercedes engines.
he added: “In the character of Mick, a mature, successful and experienced Formula 1 driver strengthens and supports our team. Also in the simulator and with feedback. In European competitions, sitting in the simulator on Friday night and then working on the data on Saturday is a huge plus.”
“Also, if one of our drivers gets fish poisoning — or in Lewis’ case, avocado poisoning — we know we’ll have a superman in the car who can drive well. But no matter how bad we get, I really want Mick to be able to race himself.” . Male Wolf.
Mercedes will not be able to do that. According to the news, Lewis Hamilton will sign with the team at least until the end of 2025, while George Russell is also considered for the long term.
