Mick Schumacher's rumored replacement 'relatively optimistic' about his chances for 2023 F1 season

Mick Schumacher's rumored 2023 Haas F1 replacement Nico Hulkenberg claims he is relatively optimistic about his chances of returning to the sport next year. The German driver has been out of the sport as a permanent driver since 2019 when he raced for Renault.

Mick Schumacher's 2023 drive seems to be in jeopardy, with only two races to go and no signs of renewal in sight for the German. Nico Hulkenberg has revealed that he is currently in talks with Haas to potentially replace Schumacher at the American outfit starting next year, but has no official confirmation of the same.

Speculation of the 35-year-old's return to the sport increased after Aston Martin revealed that they had signed Stoffel Vandoorne as their reserve driver for next year, with Hulkenberg no longer on the Silverstone-based team's roster. Aston Martin's move has prompted fans to believe that the 'Hulk' is making his F1 comeback with Haas next year.

The German told Austrian broadcaster ServusTV:

“At the end of the day, it’s not my decision. I’m not making it. There are still talks. I am relatively optimistic, but we will have to be patient a little longer.”

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Mick Schumacher isn't thinking about his F1 future

Mick Schumacher has said that it's not too difficult to stay focused on his job amidst constant speculation about his future. Despite Nico Hulkenberg being linked with Schumacher's seat at Haas next season, the German remains focused on the job at hand. Schumacher says that he's only trying to do his best — finish 'as high as possible'.

He said:

“It’s not difficult. I’m here to do my job, and I’m here to do it well. So that’s what my main focus is on. And that’s everything I’m in control of. So I’m just trying to do my best, and that’s what I’m here for. It’s just a matter of trying to finish as high as possible and finish with as many points as possible each weekend. So that’s really the target right now.”

Schumacher missed out on points at the 2022 US F1 GP after debris from the Stroll-Alonso crash damaged his Haas car. He said about his unfortunate weekend:

“It was unfortunately quite damaged, the car. It affected quite a few different areas on the car, which obviously didn’t quite play into our hands. I think otherwise we were on for a good position in around, I think, P6 or P7, so it would have been great points for the team having a double points finish.”

The young driver had another woeful race the following weekend in Mexico, finishing P16. To make matters slightly better for Mick Schumacher, however, he finished ahead of his Danish teammate Kevin Magnussen.