Mick Schumacher has opted to join Ferrari’s Academy over the Mercedes young driver program, Motorsport.com’s Italian edition has claimed.
The 19-year-old son of seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael has been wooed by both of his father’s former employers with Toto Wolff and Maurizio Arrivabene indicated the door is very much open to the German.
Schumacher’s profile has dramatically increased in recent months after he won the European F3 title and will now race with Prema in F2 next year as he opts for a steadier rise up the motorsport ladder over a big jump straight into F1.
A key factor in his decision, which is only speculation at this stage, could be the relative trust each manufacturer has put in their young drivers after Ferrari promoted Charles Leclerc to a race seat after just a single year with Sauber, albeit a very impressive one.
Meanwhile, at Mercedes, their talent has struggled with both Pascal Wehrlein, who has now left the program, and Esteban Ocon falling off the F1 grid after two full seasons each.
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A deal is still to be reached, however, and in his most recent public comments at the FIA gala last weekend, Schumacher’s focus will solely on next year.
“I’m definitely looking forward to it,” he said. “It’s now getting close to the dream, getting close to what I want to achieve.
“To be close and see how they work is something very special because it’s not what we get in F3. Obviously, we can only see on the TV, we don’t see what is happening behind the scenes and stuff.
“Now with F2 I’ll be close and up front, seeing how they work and hopefully also using some of that for my personal development.”
Mick got his first taste of the car at a two-day test in Abu Dhabi last month and offered an insight into how it went.
“The test went well. We did a lot of long runs and a lot of performance runs as well, so I got to know the car, got to know the tyres as well which is always a bit different to the F3 car,” he said.
“The tyres are most difficult to understand. You have to be able to get the tyres in the right window in order to be quick, and to get that right every time is difficult.”