Ralf Schumacher reacts to Mercedes signing Mick: “It’s a win-win for both sides”

Last week, Mercedes announced Schumacher as their official reserve and test driver following Nyck de Vries' switch to AlphaTauri.

Mercedes also lost Stoffel Vandoorne to Aston Martin, while Schumacher was without a full-time drive for F1 2023 after Haas dropped him in favour of fellow German Nico Hulkenberg.

Speaking to Sky Germany, Schumacher believes it’s a good move for both parties.

“I think it’s a win-win situation for both sides,” he said. “One, for the team they have a great driver, if they need a replacement short term, if one of the drivers for some reason can not drive.

“And the next is of course that he is now in the team where he can learn a lot, first of all through a new structure, a big structure.”

The former Williams and Toyota driver thinks that Schumacher’s reserve role could allow him to stand-in for either Aston Martin or Williams should they need a replacement.

“For me, I think it’s a great opportunity,” he added. “Because he now has an experienced team, with two experienced team-mates, and above all, for a change, a team that is happy that he is there.

“I think that’s also the strength that Mick can have, to step in there and step on the gas.

“However, please do not only think of Mercedes, there’s nothing wrong with that, but at some point there could be a problem for Mercedes-operated teams and then they could turn to someone who is fresh from the season and knows all the tracks and knows all the handling with the cars.”