Bernie Ecclestone admits 24-year-old driver’s Formula 1 career has been mismanaged

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Bernie Ecclestone has said that the career of Mick Schumacher has been completely mismanaged up to this point.

Mick Schumacher was waiting in the wings at Mercedes last year after two seasons with backmarkers Haas.

Speaking to German outlet Sport.de, Bernie Ecclestone was discussing the 24-year-old’s career.

There was a lot of excitement a few years ago when it looked like the Schumacher name was going to return to the Formula 1 grid.

During his second season in Formula 2, his performances reached another level and he managed to win the championship ahead of Callum Ilott and Yuki Tsunoda.

It earned him a place on the grid with Haas due to their connections with Ferrari, but Guenther Steiner’s team struggled at the back of the grid.

In two years with Haas, Schumacher scored just 12 points alongside Nikita Mazepin and Kevin Magnussen.

The Dane showed what the team was missing and eventually, Steiner decided to replace Schumacher with Nico Hulkenberg this year.

Ecclestone believes that Schumacher’s Formula 1 career has been mismanaged by both Ferrari and Haas.

The 24-year-old spent a year as a Mercedes test driver and will be back in action in 2024.

The step down to the World Endurance Championship will keep his skills sharp, but unless he runs away with the championship, it’s going to be difficult to break back into Formula 1.

Ecclestone laments Schumacher’s Formula 1 career

Speaking about the young German, Ecclestone said: “He has to fight, he has to stick with it and show that he is still in a position to deliver good performances.

“The people will then find him, and he doesn’t have to find the people who offer him the opportunity to race.

“In the best-case scenario, people will see him and say: We need him. And not the other way around: he is looking for someone who will take him in because of his name.

“He should forget his name and develop as a person.

“At Red Bull, for example, he would have been better understood, they would have helped him and led him up.

Asked what the former F1 boss thought of Schumacher’s path to the WEC and whether it was the right step, the 93-year-old replied: “That’s probably the only and best thing he can do at the moment.”

“It’s good that he can show himself, ideally with good performances. Then it could happen that those responsible in Formula 1 rethink and say: ‘Maybe we made a mistake. “We’ll try again.

“The difficult question is: How and when?”

Ecclestone went on to say that Schumacher was “in the wrong hands” under Guenther Steiner at Haas and it’s affected his career as a result.

While Red Bull might have looked after Schumacher better, they’re arguably even more cut-throat when it comes to their drivers.

Nyck de Vries went 10 races without a point this season and was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo as a result.

Schumacher had to wait nearly 30 races to record his first top-ten finish and it’s hard to see Red Bull and AlphaTauri allowing him that much time on the grid before delivering.

The German wants to return to the grid in 2025, but that’s going to be easier said than done in his position.