AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost has suggested that it might be a wise move from Mick Schumacher to consider driving for another team for around another three years before potentially moving to Ferrari or one of the other leading teams.

Schumacher is in his second year in the sport in a Haas car that is lightyears ahead of where it was last season in terms of competitiveness, and that means we should get a better gauge of just where he stacks up compared to the rest of the field.

Indeed, he has a team-mate in Kevin Magnussen that is also a good yardstick to compare himself to and Tost has suggested that job number one for Mick needs to be to beat the Dane, and then drive for a few more years earning experience before heading to a team like Ferrari.

“He has to drive somewhere else for another three years,” Tost told F1-Insider.com.

"A driver needs at least three years of learning to drive at the top level.

"A George Russell or a Charles Leclerc also needed that time. Formula 1 is extremely complicated today.

“He first has to beat his team-mate Kevin Magnussen consistently at Haas and try to achieve success with Haas.

"That’s his job now and nothing else.”

Mick is always going to be linked with Ferrari given his father Michael's record there.

Formula One F1 - Saudi Arabia Grand Prix - Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - March 26, 2022 Haas' Mick Schumacher during qualifying REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri

He's on the Ferrari driver academy programme, too, but knows that he must prove his talents in his own right to earn a Scuderia seat.

Ultimately, Ferrari only have two spots available in their car and in Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz they have two of the very best on the grid, so Mick's task is a far from enviable one.

Even so, he will be relishing the challenge of keeping showing what he can do now his Haas car has extra performance and this is a year that really could be crucial for him in terms of his early career.