05 December 2023 , 19:24
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Mick Schumacher says his experience as Mercedes' reserve driver has taught him that all Formula 1 racers "have the same insecurities".
The German racer spent the 2023 season as backup to Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Mercedes moved quickly to snap him up after he was axed by Haas following two seasons racing for the backmarker team.
In his role, Schumacher has done a lot of simulator work to help his team set up its cars for each race weekend. He was also present at races to support the work done in the garage, as well as being on standby in case Mercedes needed a replacement racer at short notice.
It has given him the chance to see first-hand how one of F1's elite operations works behind the scenes, and to work with two of the top drivers on the grid. And he has shared his findings in a new interview.
"I think that for me what people forget - I was aware of it but it's still something which you don't think too much about - is that everybody is human, and everybody has the same insecurities," he told the official F1 website.
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"That for me was my biggest learning. Some of the questions when driving myself which weren't answered then, have been answered here. That everybody is going through some stuff especially while racing and it was great to have that experience.
"But also, obviously you know why they are as good as they are because of the approaches they take. It's great to see also Lewis who has been with the team for so long, the connection he has to the team, they can talk without using words and understand each other and that I think is something which is quite special."
Schumacher had hoped his Mercedes role and the fact it would keep him in the paddock would help him to land a race seat for the 2024 season. But, with the exception of AlphaTauri who brought in Daniel Ricciardo mid-season, all 10 teams will start the next campaign with the same drivers they had at the beginning of this year.
The German will continue in his backup role with the Silver Arrows as a result. But he also plans to get back involved in competitive racing, having signed with Alpine to race with the French manufacturer in the World Endurance Championship.
Schumacher was at Magny-Cours on Tuesday, taking part in an official Pirelli tyre test. He completed 90 laps in the last official outing for the team's W14 car on intermediate and wet tyres.