Ecclestone: 'Pity Mick lost his seat'

Bernie Ecclestone, former Formula 1 boss, says he would not have given Mick Schumacher a seat in 2023 either. At the same time, he also protects Schumacher and is critical of Haas, the team Schumacher drove for last year.

The young German drove for the Haas team for two seasons, but was denied a seat by the team in 2023. Schumacher performed shakily and crashed regularly. The former Formula 1 boss explains at the German branch of Motorsport.com that he too would not have signed Schumacher for the 2023 season had he been team boss. "The answer is simple: no."

Criticism of Haas

Ecclestone is also highly critical of Mick's former employer. "He spent too much time with the wrong team and got the wrong advice. I don't think the team took particularly good care of him either," said Ecclestone. "It's such a shame he lost his seat. I am curious to see what he will do in the future."

Schumacher to Mercedes

After leaving US racing team Haas, Schumacher came to Mercedes as a reserve driver for 2023. " Of course he wanted to stay in motorsport, so it was probably the best chance he had," said Ecclestone. At his new team, Schumacher has the chance to learn from the regular drivers there, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

Ecclestone sees it differently. "I don't think he still needs to learn so much. The team also wanted him because of his driving ability. He got pushed aside a bit because, of course, people remember the famous surname and expected too much too soon," analyses the Briton.