After 15 months competing in the F.I.A. World Endurance Championship, Mick Schumacher said he was experiencing “a different kind of enjoyment” compared with Formula 1.
“The car is obviously quite a bit slower, a lot heavier, there’s less downforce, less power,” Schumacher said in an interview in May. “In terms of driving style, it’s very different.
“What is definitely an added challenge is the fact that you have a multicategory race, so you always have to position yourself, and there is much more of a mental game playing a part, increasing my knowledge on everything than just racing and racing fast.”
In Formula 1, Schumacher, the son of the seven-time champion Michael, had two difficult years with Haas in 2021 and 2022, scoring points in two of 44 Grands Prix.
After two years as a reserve driver with Mercedes, and with no opportunity of a race seat with any team, he left at the end of last year. Schumacher is in his second season of the World Endurance Championship with Alpine. He joined the team at the start of last year, scoring his first podium finish in September in the 6 Hours of Fuji.
Along with his teammates Jules Gounon and Frédéric Makowiecki of France, Schumacher finished third in this year’s 6 Hours of Imola and 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
“We can be satisfied,” said Schumacher, who is German. “We’ve been working very hard, and the team did a tremendous job over the winter, to get us into a position where we are able to fight for those positions. They have been good points and good preparation for Le Mans.”
The first 24 Hours of Le Mans last year was tough for Schumacher. He and his teammates Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxivière of France retired after 88 laps. The overall winners completed 311.
“Last year, one of the big points for us was reliability,” Schumacher said. “The team has addressed that, and we’ve been more reliable since. That’s been a very big positive for us.
“Now 24-hour races are much more complex, but it’s still about putting yourself into a position where you are conserving the car, still being quick, making no mistakes, and putting everything you’ve learned on the line.”
Approaching Le Mans, Schumacher said he had improved considerably in strategy, race management and communication. “Everything that essentially is going to make me a better racing driver wherever my career path leads me,” he said.
Schumacher has not given up hope of a return to Formula 1.
“It is a topic that is very close to my heart,” he said. “I’ve loved Formula 1 since I was a little boy. It is the pinnacle of motorsport for a good reason.”
After the disappointment of his time with Haas, and being overlooked for a seat at Mercedes after Lewis Hamilton announced he was leaving to join Ferrari for this season, Schumacher has remained positive.
“I’ve been doing it all my life,” he said. “Disappointments are a part of growth. Those difficult moments in life make you more resilient and stronger as a person.”
Although Schumacher did not drive in Formula 1 with Mercedes, he said his time with the team was “very helpful to build my toolbox,” which has proved useful with Alpine after it joined the Hypercar class last year.
With three drivers in each car, it provides different inputs. “It’s not like as if we are two, as in Formula 1,” he said. “It also gives me an input because I understand what the other drivers are feeling with the car. It’s not only my feelings.
“Psychologically, you also understand that everybody has the same feelings, same doubts, moments of up and down. At first, maybe I was a bit naïve to think I was the only one having those, but everybody has them.”
He said he had learned “some amazing things” over the past couple of years for which he was grateful.
At Le Mans he knows “anything can happen,” he said, and for “anybody in the field, if they get it right, they will have a shot at winning.”
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