FIVE potential replacements for Mick Schumacher at Haas F1 Team

The Schumacher name looked to have left the world of Formula 1 for good when the legendary Michael Schumacher retired at the end of the 2012 season.

Almost a decade later and motorsport's most iconic name was back on the F1 grid after reigning Formula 2 champion Mick Schumacher signed a one-year contract with the Haas F1 Team for the 2021 season.

The 2021 season was nothing short of disastrous for Haas with just a single Q2 appearance (earned by Mick Schumacher at Circuit Paul Ricard) and no points to show for their efforts.

Mick's 2021 campaign was a mixed bag with crashes at Monaco, France, Hungary, Turkey and Saudi Arabia costing the Haas team vital development funds.

The 2022 season promised a point-scoring car and a more competitive teammate for the German after Nikita Mazepin was kicked to the curb in favour of tried-and-tested Dane Kevin Magnussen.

Many expected Schumacher to excel this season, but seven rounds into the championship the 23-year-old is just one of two full-time drivers yet to score a point.

Two major crashes at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix have put further pressure on the young German's shoulders with reports surfacing this week that Guenther Steiner is considering his options for next season.

With that in mind, we consider five potential replacements for the 2023 season should Mick Schumacher fail to turn his fortunes around.

The Likely Contenders

Antonio Giovinazzi is arguably the most likely option for Haas moving forward should they choose to part ways with Mick Schumacher at the end of the season. The 28-year-old Italian spent three seasons with fellow midfield runners Alfa Romeo between 2019 and 2021 and proved himself to be a strong midfield driver on his best days.

The Italian did struggle to find consistency when Sunday came around during his three-year stay in Formula 1, but his qualifying record was strong enough to suggest that the talent is there. Giovinazzi outqualified former world champion Kimi Raikkonen 13-6 over the 2021 season, qualifying as high as seventh on the grid in consecutive races at Zandvoort and Monza in a lower-midfield car. Giovinazzi is currently driving in Formula E for the backmarker Dragon/Penske Autosport team but would jump at the chance of an F1 return. His links to Ferrari will also play a part, given their link to the second seat with the Haas team.

Haas' reserve and test driver Pietro Fittipaldi was continuously linked to the seat vacated by Nikita Mazepin during the off-season, and will inevitably be linked with the full-time drive again should Mick Schumacher depart. The Fittipaldi name is synonymous with motorsport. Pietro's father, Emerson, was a two-time Formula 1 world champion, and his younger brother, Enzo, currently competes in the Formula 2 championship.

Fittipaldi's only elite-level racing experience comes in the form of a handful of appearances in the IndyCar and LMP2 Le Mans series', although he did well to challenge the pace of experienced teammate Kevin Magnussen when deputising for Romain Grosjean in the final two rounds of the 2020 Formula 1 season.

The Wildcard Options

Felipe Drugovich's name is increasingly present on the lips of motorsport fans, and will surely be in the conversation should he convert his Formula 2 championship lead into a title. The Brazilian has no links to an F1 junior team, which stands to his disadvantage, given previous F2 champions Nyck De Vries and Oscar Piastri were tied to F1 academies, and both failed to secure drives in F1 after winning their respective championships.

Drugovich is into his third season as an F2 driver; a typically make-or-break year for drivers with aspirations of F1, but the Brazilian is enjoying a breakthrough season to end all season. In the first five rounds of the 2022 campaign, Drugovich has claimed three feature race wins and one sprint race victory. He leads second-placed Theo Pourchaire by 32 points, with the lead to third-placed Jehan Daruvala standing at a staggering 60. Keep up that form and his name will surely enter the conversation.

Pierre Gasly and Daniel Ricciardo are two drivers whose F1 futures are in serious doubt. A two-year contract extension for Sergio Perez all but ends Gasly's hopes of an eventual return to the Red Bull team and with academy drivers Liam Lawson, Jüri Vips and Dennis Hauger all showing promise, the Frenchman could soon vacate his seat at AlphaTauri.

Oscar Piastri's failure to land a drive for the 2022 season demonstrates how competition for places on the grid is at an all-time high, so the opportunity to partner Kevin Magnussen at Haas may be an attractive proposition for the 26-year-old.

For Ricciardo, a crisis of confidence and a tough start to the 2022 season has cast a shadow over his legacy as one of the finest F1 drivers of the past decade. The experienced Aussie is playing second fiddle to McLaren golden boy Lando Norris and has never looked comfortable with the team from Woking since joining from Renault, spare from an immense race win at Monza last season. Team owner Zak Brown has publicly criticised the 32-year-old's performances this season and tensions between Ricciardo and the team appear to be rising.

To add fuel to the fire, McLaren's presence in IndyCar has generated rumours that both Pato O'Ward and Colton Herta are being considered as replacements for the Australian come the end of the season. The popular Aussie should take notice of Valtteri Bottas' change of fortunes. The Finnish driver's confidence was at rock bottom after a tough final season with frontrunners Mercedes, but a drop down the grid to Alfa Romeo has produced immense results and restored his reputation. Haas could be the perfect place for Ricciardo to rediscover his mojo.