Mick Schumacher prediction made as Guenther Steiner told Haas ignored "expected" option

Mick Schumacher has been told he has the talent to drive for one of the best Formula 1 teams despite his Haas axe.

The German had his career with the American team ended after just two years. Schumacher scored points on just two occasions out of 43 starts, while his case for a new contract was also not helped by several costly crashes which incurred the wrath of team owner Gene Haas.

Schumacher is now a reserve driver at Mercedes while he waits to see what race seat opportunities might present themselves. Double F1 world champion Emerson Fittipaldi has no concerns about his future though and is predicting big things.

"Mick is going to be in one of the best teams," he told Wettbasis. "Anything can happen and I think he can perform, for sure. They are looking for the future as well because no-one knows how many years Lewis Hamilton will continue. Even he doesn't know yet. But it's going to be good for him to be in that team."

Haas chose one German to replace another when they hired the more experienced Nico Hulkenberg to partner Kevin Magnussen. Team boss Guenther Steiner was happy to overlook the fact he had not held an F1 race seat since 2019 in the search for a more experienced driver.

Fittipaldi has only positive things to say about Hulkenberg – though he wishes Steiner had gone in a different direction. His grandson Pietro is the Haas reserve driver and the Brazilian is understandably disappointed that he wasn't given a chance.

Pietro Fittipaldi remains Haas' reserve driver (GETTY/Mark Thompson)

The Brazilian said: "I met Nico in the first year of A1. He was in Team Germany. He was extremely fast, a very impressive driver. He had some opportunities in F1 and it's great to see him again.

"In my opinion, he will be very fast. Aggressive driver, fast driver. I look forward to seeing Haas with Kevin and Nico. Kevin is another very good driver. In my opinion, Hulkenberg is a fast, aggressive and determined driver. I also think he's been an underrated driver for the last 10 years.

"It's a shame they didn't get Pietro. I expected Pietro to replace Mick. But the team needed someone with experience."