“Based on performance, not on marketing” - Marko hits back at Schumacher

Schumacher stated that Marko opted for Nyck de Vries over his nephew - Mick Schumacher - for “personal reasons”.

“It seems that Helmut Marko has a problem with the Schumacher name,” he said.

“Even though I have a good exchange with him personally, it seems he has some problem with Mick because otherwise, it’s not understandable to me why it didn’t work out from the beginning.

“To be honest, I don’t see anyone else in the squad who would fit in there at the moment. “That’s why I’m surprised by what Dr. Helmut Marko is doing.”

Mick was dropped by Haas at the end of 2022, leaving him without a drive.

AlphaTauri was a potential option but with de Vries starring in his one-off outing with Williams at Monza, he got the nod.

As a result, Mick joined Mercedes as their third driver for F1 2023.

“I have no problem with the name Schumacher,” Marko told oe24. “For me Michael Schumacher is the greatest.

“I talk to Ralf regularly. But he is confusing one thing: our F1 programme is based on performance, not on marketing.”

It’s unsure whether Mick will rejoin the grid in 2024, with Williams seemingly his only option for next year.