Mick Schumacher’s prospects of being signed by the Cadillac Formula 1 team have received an endorsement from an unlikely source: Guenther Steiner.
The German has been out of F1 since being fired by Steiner at Haas at the end of 2022, copping some public criticism from the charismatic Italian in the process.
Schumacher racked up a hefty damage bill for the American squad in his final campaign, which prompted Steiner to make the decision to replace him.
Since then, Schumacher spent two years at Mercedes as its reserve driver, before going on to compete in the World Endurance Championship with Alpine, a drive he currently holds.
But Steiner, speaking to RTL, backed Schumacher to be a realistic candidate for what will be America’s second team on the grid.
“I think Mick has a good chance,” he assessed.
“Cadillac needs a driver with experience in Formula 1, and there are currently not many drivers who don’t have a job but have already driven Formula 1.”
Steiner added that the experience gained under Toto Wolff’s stewardship would have been a huge benefit.
“When he was a test driver at Mercedes, he didn’t race, but he learned a lot about a good big team,” he said. “This knowledge of how a successful team works could help Cadillac.”
Schumacher and Bottas – the ideal Cadillac pairing?
Valtteri Bottas, the current Mercedes reserve driver, is also hotly-tipped to race for the team, having appeared in a humorous online video taking an interest in a Cadillac SUV.
Steiner intimated a pairing of Schumacher and Bottas could be ideal, saying that both men “learned the same work ethic” at Mercedes.
There is naturally a call for an American driver to take one of the seats with the team, but few possess the necessary Super Licence points to enable them to compete in F1.
“I don’t think they’ll take an American driver because the risk is just too great,” Steiner explained.
“The guys have no experience in Formula 1 and then it can quickly backfire. That doesn’t help anyone.
“Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu. All of them have experience in Formula 1. With Mick Schumacher, these are my four favourites.”
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