Mick Schumacher’s F1 future in doubt after Haas make surprise Antonio Giovinazzi announcement

Mick Schumacher’s Formula 1 future may been in doubt after Haas announced that Antonio Giovinazzi would be participating in two practice sessions for the team this season.

Ahead this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, Haas revealed that Giovinazzi would be driving for them in FP1 for the grand prix in Italy and the United States.

Schumacher and teammate Kevin Magnussen will be taking turns to vacate their seat for the Italian driver, who previously raced for Sauber/Alfa Romeo from 2017 to 2021.

Giovinazzi has spent this year racing bin Formula E and as Ferrari’s reserve driver, but the announcement today suggests that he could be returning to the grid for 2023.

Each F1 team is mandated to run a ‘rookie’ driver in two practice sessions throughout the season, as a way to give more opportunities to younger racers, something Haas are yet to do this year.

The drivers in question may not have started more than two grand prix, but Giovinazzi has 62 races under his belt, raising questions as to why he has been given this opportunity, with some speculating that Haas could be assessing him with a view to a race seat in the future.

‘Ferrari were keen to give Antonio some seat time in a current-spec Formula 1 car on a race weekend and we were naturally happy to assist,’ Haas team principal Guenther Steiner said.

‘We enjoyed a similar situation back in 2017 with Antonio and Ferrari – the clear difference between then and now is the experience he’ll have gained competing for the previous three seasons in Formula 1 and the feedback he’ll be able to give us in Italy and America.’

If Haas really are thinking about signing Giovinazzi, then Schumacher would have to make way as the young German is out of contract at the end of this season while