Schumacher has McLaren seat fitting

Mick Schumacher has had a seat fitting at McLaren as it renews its deal with Mercedes for access to the German marque’s pool of Formula 1 Reserve Drivers.

It means Mick Schumacher could potentially line up for McLaren Racing should Oscar Piastri or Lando Norris be unable to race during the 2023 season.

Schumacher joined Mercedes as Reserve Driver after losing his drive at Haas to Nico Hulkenberg after two seasons with the American-owned operation.

His seat fitting at McLaren comes shortly after he went through the same process with his new employer.

The German has had a seat fitting at the McLaren Technology Centre with the British squad sharing images of the moment on social media.

McLaren has Alex Palou as its nominated Reserve Driver on top of its access to the Mercedes pool.

Last year, it also had an agreement with Alpine for access to the Enstone squad’s drivers.

That saw Piastri in the frame to replace Norris at last year’s Monaco Grand Prix after the then-22-year-old contracted tonsilitis.

At the time, the Australian was Alpine’s nominated Reserve Driver.

Nyck de Vries was also put on standby at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix when Norris was again struck down ill.

It was as a nominated Mercedes Reserve that de Vries had practice session outings with Aston Martin and Williams, racing for the latter in the Italian Grand Prix after Alex Albon suffered appendicitis.

McLaren is set to launch its 2023 season on February 15. It will then travel to Bahrain for three days of pre-season testing on February 23-25.

Round 1 of the 2023 Formula 1 season, the Bahrain Grand Prix, then follows on March 3-5.

You can stay across F1 throughout the 2023 season with dates, drivers, key personnel and more with Speedcafe.com’s Key Details reference, available here.

McLaren will be able to call on @SchumacherMick as a reserve driver during the 2023 F1 season as part of our arrangement with Mercedes. Welcome to the family, Mick. 👊🧡 pic.twitter.com/DNiJ5s99rQ

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) February 1, 2023