The driver that Toto Wolff is imploring F1 teams to sign

Schumacher linked up with Mercedes this season in a role as their third driver, backing up Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

He was axed last year by Haas who were left frustrated by his crashes and his inexperience.

"I think he deserves to be on the grid," said Wolff.

"The moment you're not feeling confident in a car over a prolonged period, the more pressure you put on yourself, the less good you perform, and I think this happened at Haas.

"He is quick – if you win F3 and F2, there is high potential in you, and he was never able to show it [in F1].

"I'm glad we have a third driver that I know will do the job if one of ours eats a bad fish!

"But his contribution in the simulator is tremendous, and that makes us sometimes do these big jumps from Friday to Saturday, because he's driving his socks off overnight."

Schumacher was particularly praised for a late-night finish on the simulator ahead of the British Grand Prix which boosted Mercedes’ hopes.

Ahead of this weekend’s F1 Italian Grand Prix, he will know that there aren’t too many options for full-time race seats on the 2024 grid.

The under-pressure Logan Sargeant has been backed by Williams but Schumacher remains a high-profile name that any F1 team could turn to.