Bernie Ecclestone wants to see ‘talented’ 43-race driver back on the Formula 1 grid

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Bernie Ecclestone has witnessed every Formula 1 world championship ever contested. Born in 1930, he remains an active observer despite no longer running the sport.

Ecclestone started out in F1 as a manager, overseeing the career of Jochen Rindt, the only driver to win the title posthumously (1970). After buying the Brabham team, he took responsibility for negotiating the sport’s TV deals.

That started the sequence of events that led to Ecclestone heading up the commercial side of F1. The sport underwent enormous growth under his stewardship.

Its popularity has also increased sharply under Liberty Media, who completed their takeover in 2017. Much of this has been down to Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’ documentary series.

Ecclestone gave way to Chase Carey, who in turn was replaced by Stefano Domenicali a few years later. Domenicali had already worked in the sport as team principal of Ferrari.

Bernie Ecclestone calls for Mick Schumacher to get another opportunity in F1

In an interview with German outlet sport.de, Ecclestone was asked for his thoughts on Mick Schumacher. Nico Hulkenberg is the last remaining German driver on the F1 grid and, at 37, he’s likely to retire in the coming years.

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel walked away at the end of 2022, while Schumacher lost his seat at Haas. Ecclestone, of course, was in charge of F1 when his father, Michael, won five straight titles with Ferrari between 2000 and 2004 (taking him to seven overall).

The former F2 champion has been pushing desperately hard to return to the grid for 2025. He remains active in F1 as the reserve driver for Mercedes (which makes him available to their customer teams) and is also racing for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship.

However, Schumacher looks set to miss out, much to the disappointment of Ecclestone. He feels that the 25-year-old deserves a second chance with the guidance of a ‘warm-heated’ team boss.

“He needs someone who is a warm-hearted person,” he said. “He is talented enough, but has not been given the right opportunity so far.”

Audi boss Mattia Binotto risked ‘sacrificing’ a friend by signing Mick Schumacher

Schumacher would have hoped to use his Alpine connections to secure an F1 drive. But the team re-signed Pierre Gasly and promoted reserve driver Jack Doohan to replace Esteban Ocon.

According to Toto Wolff, Schumacher impressed Alpine in a test. But Flavio Briatore wasn’t ready to take a gamble on a driver who scored 12 points in his 43 race starts for a struggling Haas team.

His last remaining option, given that Red Bull are likely to select from their own talent pool, is Sauber. The Swiss outfit have still yet to confirm Hulkenberg’s teammate.

But Valtteri Bottas is on the verge of a contract extension, which will close the final door. Mattia Binotto risked ‘sacrificing’ his friendship with Guenther Steiner, who has advised against the signing after overseeing Schumacher at Haas.