AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost believes that German motorsport needs Mick Schumacher on the F1 grid if it is to remain strong.

There's a real dearth of German drivers in F1 at the moment, with only Nico Hulkenberg set to represent the country this year.

Indeed, he's coming in for Schumacher who was let go by Haas at the end of last season, whilst Sebastian Vettel was the other German in the field in 2022 and he has since bowed out of the sport entirely.

It's quite incredible to consider that we're so close to having no German on the grid when the country has produced some of the best drivers around, and only about ten years ago you'd have about a quarter of the grid hailing from the nation.

For things to pick up, then, Tost believes Mick needs to be back in the pack sooner rather than later as, whilst German representation from the likes of Mercedes and soon Audi is all well and good, it's the drivers that ultimately attract the fans:

“Germany is spoiled,” he said to Auto Bild. “You can even feel it in football. I’m convinced that the lack of interest at the last World Cup also has something to do with the poor results of the national team.

“If they had reached the final, half of Germany would have followed the games in Qatar as well. One thing is certain: people need heroes, and they need them made of flesh and blood, not metal.

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“Mick’s career determines the interest in Germany. Nico Hülkenberg cannot do it alone.

“They [German motorsport fans] wanted to see Michael Schumacher win back [in his return to F1] and not the engine or the car from Mercedes. Only heroes trigger a boom.

“The second example is Boris Becker. Before him, interest in tennis was more reserved for the affluent citizens. That changed abruptly with the success of Boris and Steffi Graf. Suddenly all the kids wanted to play tennis.

“He could have become the new hero, but unfortunately he’s out of Formula 1 for now. What a shame.”

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