Ralf Schumacher told Haas they can solve their driver dilemma by axing Kevin Magnussen to create an all-German driver pairing for the 2023 campaign.
Haas are the final team on the grid yet to confirm their full driver line-up for next season. Team principal Guenther Steiner is mulling over whether to give Mick Schumacher another year in the seat or opt for the more experienced option of Nico Hulkenberg.
They have only that one seat to play with as Magnussen is tied down to at least another year. Despite that, six-time F1 race winner Schumacher – also Mick's uncle – suggested Haas should consider paying off the Dane so they can sign both Germans for 2023.
"Anything is possible, of course, especially if we look at the last few races," the 47-year-old told Sky Germany. "Who knows, Magnussen may not be so firmly in the seat anymore? If we look at the races since Silverstone, we have to conclude that Mick is the more stable and better of the two drivers.
"He has also had some bad luck with wrong strategies. In the last race [the Mexican Grand Prix ], Mick was sometimes up to six-tenths faster than Magnussen – so let's wait and see for the next few races. I hope Haas make a decision soon. Maybe next year we will have two Germans on the Formula 1 grid."
Following their lucrative sponsorship deal with MoneyGram, Haas may well have the funds at their disposal to pay off Magnussen's contract if they decided Schumacher and Hulkenberg would be the best pairing. But given the Dane has scored double the amount of points as his team-mate in 2022, they are very unlikely to want to do so.
Hulkenberg recently broke his silence on the speculation he could land a race seat for the first time since 2019. "At the end of the day, it's not my decision. I'm not making it. There are still talks. I am relatively optimistic, but we will have to be patient a little longer," he said.
Mirror Sport understands there is no update on Hulkenberg's future despite Aston Martin signing F2 champion Felipe Drugovich and ex-McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne as reserves for next year. In an exclusive interview last week, Steiner told Mirror Sport he is closing in on a decision.
"We will get to a decision, hopefully soon. But nothing is decided 100% yet," he said. "We are just going through the last details of what we have to sort out, and then we will make a decision. It's a job I need to do. When it's done, it's always nice to tick things off the list."
