Marko lashes out at Steiner: 'Schumacher was not treated fairly'
Red Bull motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko insisted that former F1 driver Mick Schumacher deserves a return to the pinnacle of motorsport given his talent and potential.
Schumacher, raised Switzerland, began his career in karting in 2008, progressing to the German ADAC Formula 4 by 2015. After winning the 2018 FIA F3 European Championship, he progressed to Formula 2 in 2019, and won the 2020 Formula 2 Championship, with Prema Racing.
His progression into Formula One saw him join the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2019, testing for Ferrari and Alfa Romeo before making his practice debut in the 2020 season.
The German driver made his F1 debut with Haas in 2021 and stayed with the American team for the next season, but he failed to secure a contract extension for the 2023 F1 season.
Schumacher is currently the reserve driver for Mercedes and is also competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Alpine in the Hypercar category.
Speaking of Schumacher's potential, Marko added: "Mick is one of the politest and nicest people in the whole paddock, which is a disadvantage for him. He also has the handicap of a big name."
"In sporting terms, he has already achieved a lot. He won the Formula 3 championship, he won the Formula 2 championship, that alone made him interesting for Formula 1 teams."
"As far as we were concerned, there were no sporting reasons why we never got together. He was a Ferrari junior at the time, but Mercedes took him into the team [afterwards]. So he wasn't even on the market."
Marko criticized former Haas team boss Guenther Steiner for sacking Schumacher from Formula One's sole American outfit.
"At Haas, he was not treated fairly by Netflix superstar Guenther Steiner. That's a fact. Once you drive outside Formula 1, it becomes a difficult story. But behind the scenes, you only hear good things about him.
"Toto Wolff praises him to the skies. I think Alpine and Audi are seriously considering him. I wouldn't begrudge him, because he deserves it," noted Marko.
