Schumacher at Audi from 2026? 'Talking to several drivers'

Mick Schumacher drove for Haas F1 for the past two seasons, but there was no place for him there in 2023. Guenther Steiner chose Nico Hulkenberg and so the German will have to make do with a spare seat at Mercedes. For Audi, Schumacher might be an interesting driver, but there are no talks with the talented driver yet.

Schumacher hopes to have a permanent contract back somewhere in the king class of motorsport by 2024. That won't be at Audi anyway, as the brand has planned its entry into Formula 1 for 2026. It will then take over the Alfa Romeo/Sauber team.

"We are currently talking to several policymakers, team bosses and drivers. But there have been no concrete talks with Schumacher about a contract," Duesmann reported to Der Spiegel. The top executive does agree that Schumacher is attractive to Audi because of his nationality. However, he does state that it is "not a requirement" to attract a German driver.

With Andreas Seidl, who will lead the project, Audi has already attracted the first German. The former McLaren team boss will have to spend the next few years making sure Audi is well prepared when the first race is scheduled in 2026. Whether we will see Schumacher with the formation then, we will not know for several years. Currently, Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou are competing for Alfa.