Williams has seen little to no success in the turbo-hybrid era, having seen many young and talented drivers come and leave for more competitive teams. However, after the acquisition by Dorilton Capital in 2020 and multiple personnel changes, fans of the teams held out hope for improvement.
As of 2023, they are currently sitting at 7th in the standings with 11 points, all of which were scored by Albon. The primary concern at Williams now is the future of driver Logan Sargeant, who has been performing up to the mark in his F1 debut season. A key contender to replace him, however, is former Haas driver Mick Schumacher.
Mick Schumacher “obvious contender” to replace Sargeant
Currently, Logan Sargeant and Alexander Albon form the Williams drive line-up. However, Sargeant’s performances this season have been sub-par, with him yet to finish in the points at a Formula 1 race. It is thus, no surprise that he may very well be replaced if he doesn’t get some points in for the team soon.
F1 correspondent Lawrence Barretto has named Mick Schumacher as the obvious replacement for Sargeant. Elaborating on this, he says, “Mick Schumacher would be an obvious contender, having briefly had talks with the team last year and having kept his hand in through his Mercedes reserve role, where he has earned public praise for his efforts from [Lewis] Hamilton and [George] Russell.”
Barretto even mentions rumours of a mid-season swap between the two that floated around earlier this season as a contributing factor, along with Mercedes’ and Williams’ strong relationship. But even though Mick is an ‘obvious’ candidate, is he a fit replacement?
Former Haas man himself got replaced by Nico Hulkenberg coming into 2023
What is perhaps ironic here is that the so-called ‘obvious’ replacement for Logan Sargeant was himself replaced by Nico Hulkenberg at Haas for the 2023 season. Schumacher spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons as a Haas driver, accumulating a total of 12 career points over the course of the two seasons.
While 12 points isn’t bad considering how poor-performing the 2021 Haas challenger was, it is perhaps the so-called financial cost that comes with Mick that cost him his seat. Schumacher has been criticised for costing Haas millions in repairs by repeatedly crashing out of races. In fact, he was involved in the incident with Nicholas Latifi upon which all the 2021 Abu Dhabi controversy sparked from!
Nevertheless, Mick has proved time and time again that he has the pace to make it in Formula 1. The 2020 F2 champion was guilty only of making too many unforced blunders. However, as a Formula 1 team searching for a replacement, this should be a relevant factor.
Would you like to see the Schumacher name back in Formula 1? Comment what you think down below!
