Mick Schumacher snubbed and set for another year in the F1 wilderness

Mick Schumacher’s outside-chance of returning to Formula 1 in 2025 has ended.

He was reportedly an option for the vacant Sauber seat which has now been snared by F2 talent Gabriel Bortoleto.

Sauber have confirmed that current drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will be released at the end of this season, and McLaren junior Bortoleto has been signed.

Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg had already been signed up by Sauber, giving a German presence to the team who will evolve into Audi in 2026.

Audi, one of Germany’s top manufacturers, could have selected Schumacher who is the son of a national icon.

But Schumacher has now seen another door slam in his face as he fails to return to the F1 grid.

He drove for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship this season but it didn’t boost him into their vacant F1 drive, which was instead given to rookie Jack Doohan for 2025.

Schumacher was also overlooked by Williams, when they needed an urgent replacement for the under-performing Logan Sargeant, despite being tipped by Toto Wolff.

Williams instead plumped for Franco Colapinto who has taken F1 by storm.

Schumacher is now set for a third consecutive year away from F1 in 2025.

He was dumped by Haas at the end of 2022, with then-team boss Guenther Steiner critical of the quantity of crashes he had.

Haas swiftly pivoted from rookie drivers to a pair of experienced old heads in Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, and have seen their fortunes change this season under Ayao Komatsu’s leadership.

Schumacher has been a Mercedes reserve driver for the past two years, having retained a good relationship with the manufacturer where his illustrious father ended his F1 career.