Mercedes' Wolff expresses interest in Mick Schumacher for reserve driver role

Mick Schumacher might not be out of a job for long.

Although Haas decided to part ways with Schumacher earlier this week and the Formula 1 starting grid for 2023 appears locked in, he could land a backup role with one of the teams his father, seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, raced for.

On the eve of the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said his team could make an offer to Schumacher to serve as a reserve driver for next season.

"We believe that we can look after him if the situation were to happen and with someone that just fits the team, but we haven't really put pen to paper, we haven't really come anywhere close to any terms," Wolff said Saturday. "I think he just fits and now we need to make it happen."

The comments follow earlier remarks Wolff made during last week's Sao Paulo Grand Prix where he said: "I make no secret of the fact that the Schumacher family belongs with us and that we value Mick very highly.”

The 23-year-old Schumacher has scored points just twice during his two years with Haas with a P8 result at Silverstone in July followed by a P6 in Austria the following weekend.

Schumacher's contract with Ferrari's Driver Academy is set to expire. Haas, which has a technical partnership with Ferrari, announced Nico Hülkenberg as Schumacher's replacement to race alongside Kevin Magnussen next season.

“I would like to thank Mick Schumacher for his contribution to the team over the past couple of years,” Haas team principal Günther Steiner said in a statement. “Mick’s pedigree in the junior categories was well known and he has continued to grow and develop as a driver in his time with Haas F1 Team. While choosing to go in separate directions for the future the entire team wishes Mick well for the next steps in his career path and beyond.”

Schumacher also released a statement via social media expressing his thanks to Haas and Ferrari for their support.

"Those years together have helped me to mature both technically and personally," Schumacher said. "And especially when things got difficult, I realized how much I love this sport."

He added: "My fire burns for Formula 1 and I will fight hard to return to the starting grid."

Mercedes currently employs Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne as test drivers. De Vries is moving on next season though as the 2019 Formula 2 champion has landed a full-time ride with AlphaTauri.

Michael Schumacher came out of retirement in 2010 at age 41 to join the then-new Mercedes team. He drove with Mercedes for three seasons and achieved one podium result, a third-place finish, during the 2012 European Grand Prix in Valencia, Spain.

— With files from The Associated Press.