A billionaire businessman has expressed his desire to sign Mick Schumacher for the Formula 1 race team he wants to create.
Calvin Lo, the founder and chief executive of R.E. Lee International, has a 10-figure personal fortune and a love of fast cars. He wants to put the two together to launch his own F1 team in the future and, as a huge fan of Michael Schumacher during the height of his career, he knows just who to turn to when it comes to finding a driver.
Mick Schumacher is currently a free agent, having been let go by Haas after just two seasons in F1. His F1 future is uncertain as a result, though it seems he will have no problem finding a race seat is Lo is successful in his efforts to form a new team.
"I think Mick is an asset to any team," the 46-year-old told Planet F1. "Can you imagine? My hero, my idol Schumacher, his son whose has had the training and that mindset exposure since he was a little kid.
"Sure, he may have been a little bit unlucky the last two seasons or last few races specifically but I mean, he is such an amazing driver. From what I gather Mick is such a personable person, very friendly.
"From a finance point of view, from a marketing point, that's incredible. Good driver, very well spoken, the marketability of him, it's incredible. From a boy who grew up watching Schumacher and the son is driving [for me]. Wow, that's like heaven."
Despite Lo's ambition to create his own team, there are many hoops to jump through which take time and money – and there are no guarantees he will be successful. Plus, he is not the only one bidding to form that 11th team on the grid, with Andretti Autosport also very keen on the idea.
Lo told Mirror Sport last week : "It's funny – F1 is the fastest thing going, but it's the slowest thing when it comes to documentations and logistics. I think we are still in early stages, relatively speaking, but definitely exploring and punching numbers right now.
"The entry bar is not the issue – it's not the £200m entry fee. The issue is making sure we are able to sustain and continue after one year, two years, three years and so on. That's the part where the number crunching is important. Obviously you can't expect to just go in there, win races and make lots of money from the first day. That's the hurdle that everyone looking to get into F1 must understand."
