Mick Schumacher is a star racing driver and the son of motorsport royalty in Michael Schumacher, so here is everything to know about the F1 reserve pilot and WEC gem.
After enjoying an extensive single-seater career that featured breaking into Formula 1 with Haas in 2021, Schumacher elected to switch to the World Endurance Championship for the 2024 season. The move to prototypes also saw him join Alpine for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Racing at the Circuit de la Sarthe also saw the legacy follow in his father’s footsteps. Michael also competed at Le Mans in a Mercedes with Sauber in 1991 before becoming a seven-time F1 champion. Schumacher won two titles for Benetton before taking another five for Ferrari.
Mick Schumacher is a product of the Ferrari Driver Academy
It was natural given his bloodline that Mick Schumacher also has enjoyed ties with Ferrari in his racing career. The Scuderia signed the son of a legend to the Ferrari Driver Academy in January 2019. He stayed a part of the FDA until December 2022 with a mutual separation.
Ferrari signed Schumacher for their young driver programme after he secured the European Formula 3 Championship title in 2018. His time with the FDA led to racing in Formula 2 with Prema in 2019 and 2020, before entering Formula 1 with Haas for the 2021 and 2022 terms.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory
Schumacher earned his place in the FDA 11 years after making his competitive racing debut in go-karts. He first competed in the Kerpener Kartchallenge back in 2008 with a spot in the Bambini class, which Schumacher would later win in 2010 to secure his first go-karting title.
The Kerpener Kartchallenge honour would also be Schumacher’s only karting success. While he stayed a regular front-running threat in go-karts, the best he achieved was second in the KFJ class in the CIK-FIA World and European Championships during his last year come 2014.
Mick Schumacher raced under his mother’s name to avoid attention
To avoid attention given his dad’s dominance of Formula 1, Schumacher even elected to race under a pseudonym. He adopted the name Mick Betsch by using his mother’s maiden name. Schumacher only began using his father’s name upon a move to single-seaters come 2015.
With the most famous name in motorsport on the timesheet, Schumacher began to display a fierce competitive nature and dedication in single-seaters. He developed a smooth driving style, too. Yet his first name also comes from a true icon of a different motorsport discipline.
At the time of Mick’s birth, Michael Schumacher was close friends with MotoGP legend Mick Doohan. So, when the time came to name their second kid, Michael and wife Corinna opted to name him after the five-time 500cc champion who dominated on two wheels for Honda.
Gene Haas felt Mick Schumacher was ‘in over his head’ in Formula 1
Schumacher’s consistency in single-seaters meant he continued to rise the junior ladder as a champion. Along with taking the 2018 F3 Euro title to become an FDA prospect, he pipped Callum Ilott to secure the Formula 2 title in the final round of the 2020 season by 15 points.
Being a Ferrari junior then had its perks as Schumacher sought to break into Formula 1 with a seat at Haas available for 2021. But crashes littered his time in the pinnacle of motorsport. Guenther Steiner and team owner Gene Haas ultimately canned Schumacher after 44 races.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Haas F1 Team from team principal to Ferrari relationship
The writing was on the wall for Schumacher’s future with Haas after the second round of 2022, though. Drive to Survive recorded Gene telling Steiner that Schumacher was ‘in over his head’ after his crash at the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP cost Haas $500k-1m (£400-800k).
Schumacher split his VF-22 in half after crashing during qualifying, which also ruled him out of the Grand Prix in Jeddah. The team continued with one car after Schumacher lost control of his through Turn 12 at nearly 170mph. But it was also not to be his only big crash in 2022.
Haas were left to count the pennies again at the 2022 Monaco GP when Schumacher retired on Lap 27. The son of a five-time Monaco GP winner ripped his VF-22 apart after a big off at the Swimming Pool chicane. Destroying his car again also left Steiner questioning his future.
Steiner said at the 2022 Monaco GP: “With Mick, we obviously saw what happened. It’s not very satisfactory having a big crash again. We need to see how we move forward from here.”
Haas ultimately dropped Schumacher following the 2022 F1 season and he joined Mercedes as a reserve driver. Alpine also signed Schumacher for their WEC team ahead of returning to the top class at Le Mans in 2024 in Hypercar beside Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere.
But who really is Mick Schumacher and what is his life outside of Formula 1 and the World Endurance Championship like? F1 Oversteer takes a look at everything you need to know…
Who is Mick Schumacher? Is he related to Michael Schumacher?
Mick Schumacher is a racing driver currently competing with Alpine in the World Endurance Championship. He is from an iconic motorsport family with his dad, Michael Schumacher, a seven-time Formula 1 champion and his uncle, Ralf Schumacher, also a former driver in F1.
How old is Mick Schumacher? What is his age?
At the time of writing, Mick Schumacher is 25 years old. He was born on March 22 in 1999 and is Michael and Corinna’s second child with Gina-Maria Schumacher two years his elder.
Where was Mick Schumacher born?
Mick Schumacher was born in Vufflens-le-Chateau, a municipality in Switzerland, but races under a German licence as his family – on Michael and Corinna’s sides – are from Germany.
How tall is Mick Schumacher? What is his height in feet?
Standing at a height of 1.76 in metres, Mick Schumacher measures in at 5 ft 9 in feet.
How good is Mick Schumacher? What’s been said about him?
While big crashes were regularly a part of Mick Schumacher’s time in Formula 1 at Haas, the German has often received praise throughout his racing career. He has also displayed a lot of skill behind the steering wheel in various series with a consistent and professional style.
Former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto also saw similarities between Schumacher and his dad, Michael, having worked with the seven-time F1 champion during his dominance for the Scuderia. Binotto initially worked as an engineer for Ferrari from 1997 through to 2003.
“I don’t think he’s looking very similar to Michael but the way he’s behaving is very similar,” Binotto said, via quotes by Reuters in April 2019. “The way he approaches the exercise and the way he’s interested in the car, discussing it with the technicians.”
Schumacher also impressed Lewis Hamilton behind the scenes at Mercedes with his work in the team’s simulator. The Briton recognised the German’s contribution for the Silver Arrows’ success after he and George Russell finished on the podium at the Spanish GP in June 2023.
“He did a very good job in the simulator,” Hamilton said, via quotes by The Sun. “That played a part in the fact that we were able to perform like this today.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff also praised Schumacher for what he offered the Silver Arrows in a reserve driver role. Following his departure from Haas after the 2022 F1 season, Schumacher moved to Brackley to offer support on race weekends and gathers vital data.
“It’s great to have a mature, successful and experienced Formula 1 driver supporting us,” Wolff told RacingNews365 in June 2023. “In the simulator with his feedback, that is of tremendous advantage.
“At some of the European Grands Prix, having him on the sim overnight and providing data for the Saturday is a super advantage for us. On the other side, if George were to have a fish poisoning, then we know we have a super guy that will drive the car well.
“As much as I like the situation for the benefit of the team, I would every day of the week prefer that Mick sits in a cockpit and actually races.”
His switch to endurance racing with Alpine for the 2024 WEC season even saw Schumacher earn praise for the driver’s mindset. Bruno Famin, the vice president of Alpine Motorsports and chief of their Formula 1 team, admired how Schumacher adapted to the new discipline.
“Mick is making an incredible job in endurance,” Famin said, via quotes by Autosport in May 2024. “What is very impressive is his mindset. Of course, he’s fast, but I think everybody knows he’s fast…
“We used to say that single-seater drivers are selfish. Mick, from the very first minute, has been very open, very cooperative [and] really helpful for his teammates, ready to learn everything – especially from endurance – and [has] a super mindset, super team spirit.”
Meet Mick Schumacher’s girlfriend, Laila Hasanovic
Mick Schumacher went public that he was dating Danish model Laila Hasanovic in August 2023. She is a former Miss Denmark finalist with Bosnian roots who met the racing driver after splitting from footballer, Jonas Wind. Hasanovic is a year younger than Schumacher.
What is Mick Schumacher’s net worth?
Mick Schumacher has built a strong personal net worth beyond the wealth his dad, Michael Schumacher, accrued. Essentially Sports noted ahead of his debut in F1 that Mick held a net worth of $5m (£4m) as of early 2021. There are no reliable valuations for his current worth.
His net worth has likely risen in the years since, however. Additionally, RacingNews365 notes that Michael Schumacher has a current estimated net worth of $780m (£615m) and that the seven-time Formula 1 champion was also the first billionaire athlete through his dominance.
Mick Schumacher’s Formula 1 and junior single-seater career stats
Mick Schumacher graduated from go-karts to race single-seater cars for the 2015 ADAC F4 Championship. It often took the German time to get settled in a new series before he fought for a title. Schumacher lifted the 2018 Euro F3 and 2020 F2 titles in his second year in both.
2015 ADAC Formula 4 Championship: 22 races, 1 win, 0 poles, 2 podiums
2015/16 MRF Challenge Formula 2000: 4 races, 0 wins, 0 poles, 2 podiums
2016 ADAC Formula 4 Championship: 24 races, 5 wins, 4 poles, 12 podiums
2016 Italian Formula 4 Championship: 18 races, 5 wins, 4 poles, 10 podiums
2016/17 MRF Challenge Formula 2000: 16 races, 4 wins, 2 poles, 9 podiums
2017 Formula 3 European Championship: 30 races, 0 wins, 0 poles, 1 podium
2018 Formula 3 European Championship: 30 races, 8 wins, 7 poles, 14 podiums
2019 Formula 2 Championship: 22 races, 1 win, 0 poles, 1 podium
2020 Formula 2 Championship: 24 races, 2 wins, 0 poles, 10 podiums
2021 Formula 1: 22 races, 0 wins, 0 poles, 0 podiums
2022 Formula 1: 22 races, 0 wins, 0 poles, 0 podiums
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