Mick Schumacher has officially joined the Ferrari Driver Academy from the 2019 season as the Italian manufacturer reveals its junior line-up.
The last few weeks saw the Italian press report about Mick Schumacher signing with Ferrari in their driver academy. The official confirmation regarding the news has now been made by the Italian manufacturer with Mick Schumacher certainly joining Ferrari in 2019.
The German took the FIA European Formula 3 Championship title in 2018 with Prema and is to compete in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with the same team in 2019. The Schumacher name returns to Ferrari for the first time since the 2006 F1 season.
That was the last time when Michael Schumacher raced for the Italian manufacturer. Even though the German tested with them in 2009 but the return to F1 only happened with Mercedes. In fact, Schumacher Jr was also linked to join the German manufacturer.
However, with Mercedes already struggling with their young drivers, it seems like they opted out of handing him a contract. “I am thrilled that Ferrari has entered a partnership with me and my next future in motorsport will be in red, being part of the Ferrari Driver Academy and also of the Scuderia Ferrari Family,” said Mick Schumacher.
“Again, this is another step forward in the right direction, and I can only profit from the immense amount of expertise bundled there. Be sure I will make everything to extract whatever helps me achieve my dream, racing in Formula 1.
“It is more than obvious that Ferrari has a big place in my heart since I was born and also in the hearts of our family, so I am delighted on a personal level about this opportunity as well. At this stage it is however also time to say thank you to my family, friends and partners who supported me all along and helped me arrive at this point.”
Team principal Mattia Binotto added: “For someone like me who has known him from birth, there’s no doubt that welcoming Mick Schumacher into Ferrari has a special emotional meaning, but we have chosen him for his talent and the human and professional qualities that have already distinguished him despite his young age.”
Along with Mick Schumacher, the other drivers remaining in the programme will be Giuliano Alesi (France), Callum Ilott (UK), Marcus Armstrong (New Zealand), Robert Shwartzman (Russia), Enzo Fittipaldi (Brazil) and Gianluca Petecof (Brazil).
Giuliano Alesi has been confirmed to compete in the F2 series with Trident while Marcus Armstrong will race in F3 with Prema. The press release also revealed the programme for the other drivers with Ilott graduating to F2 – possibly with Charouz Racing System.
Shwartzman is also named to race in F3 – perhaps joining Armstrong at Prema. At the same time, Enzo Fittipaldi will graduate to compete in the new FIA Regional Formula 3 Championship while Gianluca Petecof will race in the German and Italian F4 series’.
Their pre-season activities with the academy will take place next week where they undergo several programmes to prepare themselves for the new season. Among the seven drivers, Marcus Armstrong is already racing in the Toyota Racing Series.
Mick Schumacher will also be in action as he teams up with Sebastian Vettel for Team Germany in the Race of Champions this weekend in Mexico, where he will also compete individually. Meanwhile, the names missing on the FDA list are of Antonio Fuoco and Guanyu Zhou.