Mick Schumacher given boost in F1 return chances after “very positive” Cadillac talks

Mick Schumacher has revealed he’s had “very positive” talks with Cadillac about returning to F1 in 2026.

Schumacher is one of several drivers linked with Cadillac for next year.

The American outfit, which will join the F1 grid in 2026 as the 11th team, is still undecided about their driver line-up.

Schumacher, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez and Zhou Guanyu have been linked in recent weeks.

Cadillac boss Graeme Lowdon has also named Felipe Drugovich and Frederik Vesti as possible options.

Schumacher hasn’t been on the F1 grid since 2022 after losing his Haas drive.

Since then, the German was Mercedes’ test and reserve driver before racing for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship.

Schumacher has remained keen on returning to F1 as he feels he has unfinished business.

“Yes, of course, discussions are ongoing,” Schumacher said as quoted by the Brazilian edition of Motorsport.com. “The communication has been very positive so far.

“And they’ve already hired a fantastic number of people for it. It’s an honour to be part of it, to negotiate with them, and a great position to be in.”

Will Schumacher get a second F1 chance?

Schumacher will feel he still has unfulfilled potential.

His first year with Haas was a write-off, given Haas had the slowest car on the grid.

Schumacher was against Nikita Mazepin, who was wildly off the pace.

In 2022, Kevin Magnussen mostly had the upper hand, but Schumacher beat him in the race head-to-head.

Schumacher ultimately lost his drive after a run of high-profile crashes.

At the same time, Guenther Steiner, who was Haas team principal, didn’t enjoy the additional spotlight he brought to the team given his family name.

In a recent episode of the High Performance podcast, Lowdon discussed whether Schumacher's having something to “prove” makes him a more attractive option.

“Everyone wants to prove something else again,” Lowdon said. “I never look at that as the biggest motivator. Our team is not there as a vehicle for someone to prove a point. Our team is there to provide a position on the pitch, if you like. For someone to prove what they can do for sure, but it’s not the vehicle to show the world, prove a point or whatever.

“The driver is there to do the best that they possibly can for their team, and they should be motivated for the team around them as well. So, I’m less keen on people who kind of want to prove a personal point.”