Mick Schumacher must decide what he wants for his racing career to avoid it stalling for too long.
That is the view of the man who previously filled the German's new role in Formula 1. Axed by Haas after just two seasons with a race seat, Schumacher is now a reserve driver for Mercedes and will be worried over his future in the top single-seater category.
At Mercedes, the 23-year-old's role will be to help the team to develop the car through simulator work as well as help with other tasks. The only way he will get a chance to race in F1 this year is if either Lewis Hamilton or George Russell is forced to skip a race weekend for any reason.
While Schumacher has his admirers in the paddock, his absence from the grid this season is a worrying sign for his career. To get it back on track, Stoffel Vandoorne feels the German needs to make a decision over what his career priorities are.
The Belgian is in a good position to give advice. Not only was he Mercedes reserve himself for the last two years, but he too lost his place in F1 after just a couple of seasons – he was replaced by McLaren after the 2018 campaign, and went on to star in Formula E where he won the 2022 title.
"We're all on our own career paths, and everyone's path works out completely different," Vandoorne said of Schumacher's situation in an exclusive interview with Mirror Sport. "Ultimately, it's up to Mick to decide what he really wants to do and where he wants to put his efforts.
"For me, it was quite an easy decision to go to Formula E and, ever since I joined, I've fully focussed on this championship and trying to be the best I can. A few years down the line, it's worked out – I've now won a championship and hopefully I can win some more in the future."
Regarding his own chances of an F1 return one day, the 30-year-old remains open to the prospect but refuses to waste too much time and energy thinking about it. He added: "I always say you can never fully close the door, because you simply never know what will happen in one's motorsport career.
"Frankly, I don't know. But it's not on the back of my mind. My focus is on Formula E and that's where I'm currently driving. The only thing I can do is to drive as fast as possible and perform as well as I can on track here. Then, we'll see."
Stoffel Vandoorne was speaking as an ambassador of SAUDIA, the national airline and National flag carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. For more information on SAUDIA’s partnership with Formula E and how you can get access to exclusive content and prizes visit www.takeyourseat.saudia.com.
