Mika Hakkinen insists Mick Schumacher's Formula 1 journey might not be finished, despite his wholesale shift to WEC after losing his Haas seat in 2022.
The two-time champion, who famously clashed with Mick's father Michael over titles more than 20 years ago, spoke at Monday's Laureus award nominee announcement. "He has experience in Formula 1. He has experience in various categories. He is young. These are all good things," Hakkinen told Sport1, suggesting a return is feasible.
Yet he pinned Mick's initial F1 stint's end on costly mistakes. "Formula 1 is a very challenging place," he said.
"You make three or four mistakes and break the car and that is not a stroke of luck for the team. Teams don't like that. They don't like spending so much money on repairs to your car. Mick has had a few problems that have been very damaging to his career. But he still has a chance to come back. The door is open. He just needs to find the right people to talk to."
Hakkinen contrasted today's F1 with his era. "When I was driving, I took more and more risks in Formula 1 and also crashed," he said.
"But back then I had team managers who supported me. When you're a driver, you try to get everything out of it and take risks. The team managers didn't ask me to drive slowly and bring the car safely to the finish. They told me to step on the gas! But now you have different structures, a different budget and not as much money available. The money you spend on repairs you can't spend on further car development."
He also tipped McLaren's Lando Norris to L'Equipe: "Lando has everything it takes to be champion" in 2025.
