A year on the sidelines "would be fatal" to Mick Schumacher's Formula 1 career, it has been claimed.
The German is in his second season with Haas, but at the moment there is no guarantee of a third. His current contract expires at the end of the year, along with a handful of other drivers who face uncertain futures in the sport.
Haas chief Guenther Steiner said this week that talks have not yet begun with the driver, who is a member of the Ferrari driver development programme. He could remain with the team that gave him his F1 bow, though there have been suggestions he could be moved up to Alfa Romeo – and there is no guarantee he will have a race seat at all.
He was briefly linked with Aston Martin after Sebastian Vettel's retirement announcement, but that gap was quickly plugged by Fernando Alonso. "I don't really know what Mick has done, and we have not spoken about a drive for next year with Mick," Steiner told RacingNews365.
"He hasn't spoken to us and we haven't spoken to him – we want to see what's happening. This Aston Martin thing happened very quickly and so nobody had time to really think about it, but there were rumours he could replace Vettel, but that went away pretty quick. We didn't look at what other people were doing."
Amid the speculation over Schumacher's future, former F1 racer, DTM champion and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Hans-Joachim Stuck backed his fellow German as Haas' best option – but warned that a failure to secure a seat in 2023 may well be the end of his F1 career.
"He has proven his skills this season. He belongs in a car that's better than the Haas," he told Eurosport. "If it doesn't work out with another team for any reason, he just has to do it with Haas for another year. If Mick can't find another cockpit, I wouldn't understand it from Haas' perspective. Because they won't get anyone better.
"He needs to stick with it now, show himself and set an example, as he has already done this year – not driving in Formula 1 for a year would be fatal.
"I'd be surprised if Mick doesn't find a job anywhere. He shows impeccable performances which the people in charge can see. He also has a great name. A team looking for a young driver can do no better than signing Mick Schumacher."
