While pleased with his progress, Ferrari says it’s still “too early” to decide if Mick Schumacher will be promoted to Formula 1 next year.
The son of seven-time world champion Michael had a solid if unspectacular first year in F2 last year but has been more competitive in 2020, scoring two podiums last weekend in Hungary and currently sitting fourth in the championship.
Schumacher’s problem though is the performance of fellow Ferrari juniors, with 2019 F3 champion Robert Shwartzman stepping up and snatching the early lead in the standings, 18 points clear of Callum Ilott.
So when it comes to who would likely take the seat currently filled by Antonio Giovinazzi at Alfa Romeo, which is reserved for Ferrari juniors, Mattia Binotto admits the German is far from guaranteed a promotion.
“I think that Mick is certainly doing well, and he is doing a lot better than last year,” he told Autosport.
“It was important for him in his second year of F2 and he is showing progress since the start of the season.
“He had some bad luck situations but if you look at his results in Hungary, he did well. So Mick is progressing which is important.
“Next year I think it is really too early to decide,” he added. “We are really clear and fair with him: his overall performance in the championship will be important.
“So he will be in an F1 seat at the time that we believe he has done sufficient progress overall. Also, he needs simply to continue as he is doing now, and we will decide later on in the season.”
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As for Mick himself, he is focused on his own progression rather than those around him.
“I want to be among the top drivers: fighting for good positions,” he said. “My main target is to improve myself as a racing driver to become the complete racing driver I am chasing.
“I want to improve on the human side, to become let’s say more grown-up, to become more mature and to bond with the team in a way which no other driver can.”
