He still has much to learn about endurance racing but Mick Schumacher is getting more comfortable every day with this discipline in which he could write the finest chapters of his career yet.
After a debut season marked by a promising upward trajectory, the former Haas Formula 1 driver is now one of the standout figures of the 2025 World Endurance Championship so far.
“I'm taking a lot from last year into this year,” Schumacher explained. “It was a learning year for me. Now I know what to expect.”
Teaming up with Frédéric Makowiecki and Jules Gounon in the #36 Alpine A424, Schumacher has just secured two podiums in three races.
This should give him a confidence boost as he prepares to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours for the second time. Given his recent performances, Schumacher will certainly be one to watch. But what's behind this sudden progress?
Schumacher's adaptation
Last year, well aware that he couldn't settle for solely being Mercedes' F1 reserve driver, as he did in 2023, Schumacher decided to respond positively to Alpine's WEC offer.
“It’s something totally new compared to what I’ve known until now,” he acknowledged when his deal was announced in late 2023. “I’ll need to adapt.”
The transition from single-seaters to endurance racing isn’t the easiest. It’s not all about about talent, but rather mindset, as Philippe Sinault - team principal of Alpine Endurance Team and head of the legendary Signature Formula 3 team - explains.
“An F1 driver has to be selfish,” Sinault said. “And he's used to relying on a self-centred environment whose sole purpose is to make him shine. But in endurance racing, you’re not always racing with an empty fuel tank and fresh tires. It’s a bit like asking Usain Bolt to run a 4x100m relay. Some drivers don’t accept it, but reality quickly catches up with them, and the sorting happens naturally.
"Depending on the profile, it requires more or less coaching. But generally, when a driver chooses to come to endurance racing, it's because he's open-minded and aware that at some point he'll have to share in order to perform well.”
Understanding that all the conditions are not always right for you to go out and set fast laptimes is certainly not an easy task. In single-seaters, drivers are not familiar with compromise. In endurance racing, it plays a key role in the results. So it wasn't all plain sailing, and Mick sometimes kept his distance last year, not always getting as involved as his team-mates, who were seasoned endurance racers, or his team, as he was also very busy with his F1 duties as a reserve driver for Mercedes.
“We immediately noticed his high standards, both in and out of the car,” added Sinault. “His expectations were very high and he pushed everybody to reach this level. He’s also a really nice guy.
"The only doubt we had concerned his team spirit, his collective mindset, but those quickly disappeared. We’re happy to have him for a second consecutive season. He’s been with us from the start and is a key part of our project.”
And not just because he attracts media attention.
Still, Schumacher didn’t come to WEC out of conviction but rather by necessity. When Haas chose not to retain him at the end of 2022 - after 43 grands prix and 12 points over two seasons - he joined Mercedes as a reserve driver. But as previously mentioned, that wasn’t enough. And making the best of an imperfect situation, he accepted Alpine’s offer.
In the end, he seems to have enjoyed himself more than he expected, especially at Fuji last October, where he claimed his first endurance podium after some great fights on the track.
“We had some really close battles, and I’m getting more confidence of how to fight in WEC,” he said after the race. “I wasn’t expecting it to be that hard, but the cars are pretty robust and it seems like the good old days in karting. It’s been a lot of fun out there.
"It’s been a while since I’ve been on the podium – I didn’t really know what to do anymore, it’s been so long! I missed that smell. It really stinks, but I had missed it. I’m really happy.”
The beginnings of a new chapter...
What's different in 2025?
The 2024 season was a tough one for Schumacher, constantly caught up in rumours linking him back to F1.
The most talked-about was the one placing him at Williams, replacing Logan Sargeant, who was dismissed mid-season. But team principal James Vowles preferred Franco Colapinto, while controversially stating that Mick “not special”, a remark for which he later apologised. Mick was also rumored to be joining Pierre Gasly in Alpine's F1 line-up, but those doors remained closed. These setbacks took their toll amid a packed schedule.
“It was not easy for him last year, as you can imagine,” admitted Sinault. “But he put everything on the table to deliver the best possible job.
"But we can now feel that he is really more confident with the endurance project and with us, also because we’ve been working with him for 12 months now.”
In fact, it was Mick himself who decided to make endurance his priority this year.
“2024 was pretty tough,” he admitted. “A lot of races means a lot of travelling. And by the end of the year, I was pretty tired.
"So this year, I have a different approach. I realised that staying a reserve driver wouldn’t bring me as much as actually racing.
"Now, I can focus on what really matters: racing. I want to be driving, not on the sidelines. I think it’s also a bit of a possibility for me to be free and just kind of, you know, see what opportunities arise. But the main focus is WEC 100% in order to do the best we can.”
Saying he’s more committed than last year would be unfair to his solid 2024 season. But he certainly seems more fulfilled. He's likely aware that the team's progress might soon allow him to fight for victories, something he hasn't experienced since his Formula 2 title winning season in 2020.
'Very humble and attentive'
Mick’s team-mate last year, Nicolas Lapierre, is now Alpine Endurance Team’s sporting director. Lapierre is delighted with Schumacher's progress: “He’s our finisher in the #36, and he’s clearly doing an excellent job.” Alpine Racing director Bruno Famin is also pleased to see that “he’s very focused on the programme.”
New team-mate Makowiecki has only known Mick for a few months, having just joined from Porsche Penske Motorsport. His neutral perspective makes for an insightful take after three races together.
“From my side, I’ve discovered someone very humble and attentive,” he said. “He still has things to learn in endurance, but you don’t have to tell him twice and he’s eager to learn.
"For example, at Imola, we explained that he wouldn’t have two sets of fresh tyres at the end of the race because it made more sense to do things differently.
"That’s the kind of thing no driver likes, especially when new to endurance racing. But he understood that it would give him a chance to fight for the podium. And at Spa, it went very naturally.
"I think that with Jules and Mick, we form a very complementary crew thanks to our different experiences and backgrounds.”
Having a highly motivated 44-year-old with unparalleled endurance experience by his side is undoubtedly a plus for Mick. The three men have also made a point of spending time together to get to know each other better and create a real bond, something Mick wasn't able to do last year.
“Fred has a lot of experience and a lot of understanding,” Mick said. “So he’s added a lot to my understanding too. We spent some time together also with Jules to get to know each other. They came to Switzerland for a weekend, where we spent some time and did some activities together. By the way, I’m still so surprised that Fred is able to be this quick with right-foot braking.”
Schumacher did not fail to congratulate Makowiecki after his two phenomenal opening stints at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. At Spa, the trio even believed they could win. At the wheel at the end of the race, in the right conditions to shine, Mick set the fourth-fastest lap of the race. Even more revealing: in the best 60% laps average of all the drivers, he ranked second behind Alessandro Pier Guidi in the #51 Ferrari 499P.
“We were fighting for the win until a slow puncture compromised our chances,” Schumacher said regretfully. “We had to settle for the podium, but we can be happy with that. The trend is really moving forwards and upwards, and the team is getting better and better every weekend.
"Fred did an amazing stint to start the race, Jules took over and got into the lead, and it was a proper battle just until the finish. We're on the right track and there is a lot to take away from this weekend. Now we're excited to see what the next race will bring.”
And with good reason, as that next race is the Le Mans 24 Hours (June 14-15). While everyone still remembers Alpine's double retirement last year before nightfall, this year the situation is very different.
F1 = A forgotten dream?
We all already know the answer. Last year, after stepping onto the podium at Fuji, Schumacher couldn’t help but say: “I definitely still hope to make it to Formula 1, that's been my dream since I was a little boy.”
Today, that still holds true. “F1 is always on my mind,” he told The Race. “It's always been the dream and it always will stay the dream. But what is clear for me is WEC is number one priority. And therefore it will take 100% of my efforts.”
Recently, Sebastian Vettel praised Mick’s strong performances in endurance and suggested F1 should take notice of them. The four-time F1 world champion, who told German TV he sees in Mick “a man who has matured,” is even encouraging Cadillac to sign him up for F1 next year. Could this distract him from his 2025 goal?
Unlike last year, Schumacher finally seems at peace with himself and may have come to accept that a return to F1 might never happen, even if he won’t close the door completely. And what would be the point anyway?
Some drivers, such as Sébastien Buemi, were called back to F1 years later after shining in WEC. In 2017, Buemi even declined Helmut Marko’s offer because he had strong programmes in both Formula E and the WEC, and Brendon Hartley ended up replacing Daniil Kvyat at Toro Rosso instead for 2018.
Buemi is a perfect example for Schumacher to follow, and perhaps he already is.
“I think he’s becoming aware of the level of the championship,” Sinault concluded. “When you see so many manufacturers involved, it’s a good signal. I think he really considers that his place is here now.”
The third season mystery
Though arguably his background meant his path to F1 was predestined as long as he showed anything at all in junior single-seaters - and he showed more than that - Schumacher never had that true reputation of a supernova talent like that enjoyed by some of the drivers who came in right before him.
Ferrari could live with letting him go, and his famous surname, though obviously a boon, felt a hindrance, too. There's a reason he raced as Mick Junior and Mick Betsch (his mother Corinna's maiden name) in karting - and it was known that Haas's disillusionment with the experience of fielding a Schumacher was contributed to by all the extra baggage, in terms of media and publicity, that came with it.
Haas was also where Schumacher bucked his trend of being a second-season wonder. It'd happened in Formula 4, where he went from a quiet first season to fighting for titles as a sophomore. In Formula 3, he turned a rookie 12th place into first, then in Formula 2 did exactly the same.
There were glimpses at Haas in that final 2022 campaign that he was finding something, intermittently anyway, against its seasoned returnee Kevin Magnussen - but never quite enough to change the early-season narrative. And while the man largely synonymous with giving up on Schumacher the F1 driver - Guenther Steiner - is now gone from his role, Steiner was hardly proven incorrect by the performances of replacement Nico Hulkenberg the following year.
The Haas stint looks the aberration now. Schumacher seems to be taking his second-year leap again in WEC. But what would his year three trajectory look like?
If a firm Cadillac F1 offer ends up on the table, we probably won't find out. And an eye-catching Le Mans 24 Hours, which, on the evidence of the current season, looks more than possible, would probably only increase buzz over an F1 return.
But finding out what that 'year-three Schumacher' looks like, what true continuity can do for him in a major, prestigious series, has to be tempting, too.
Just before the 2025 season began, Schumacher posted a picture on social media of himself laughing with team-mate Makowiecki. The caption read: “They say if you enjoy your work, you’ll be good at it... guess we’re good.”
It didn't always feel like he was enjoying F1. But it's not just about "enjoyment" now - there is real, tangible evidence that he's getting somewhere in these endurance surroundings, that all the steps for a fantastic, rewarding career - without all the brutalities of F1's ceaseless spotlight - are mapped out, just waiting to be followed.
The F1 "dream" isn't to be discarded flippantly. It can't be. But it's possible Schumacher has now found the racing he was really meant for.
