McLaren will be able to call upon Mick Schumacher as a back-up driver if he is needed during the 2023 Formula 1 campaign.

Schumacher is not on the grid as a full-time driver in 2023 after being let go by Haas at the end of last season and replaced by Nico Hulkenberg.

Indeed, the German was told at the end of the year that that would be the case by Haas team boss Guenther Steiner, and it became apparently quickly over the Abu Dhabi weekend that Toto Wolff was interested in getting Mick into Mercedes in some capacity.

So that would prove, too, with Schumacher joining up with the team as a reserve driver for 2023, with him set to take on marketing and sim duties as part of the role with the Silver Arrows.

They do not have exclusivity over his services for next season, though, with an agreement being made with McLaren, who run Mercedes engines, that they can also use Schumacher if needed over the course of the campaign, should Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri not be able to make a race.

We saw Nyck de Vries, though a Mercedes reserve at the time, drive for other Mercedes customers last season - in practice sessions at various events and the Italian Grand Prix with Williams - and so that is the sort of position Mick now finds himself in for 2023.

[Photo credit: McLaren F1]

Should any of Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri not be able to make a race, then, we will see Mick back on the grid this coming year.


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