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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has hit back at James Vowles for his comments on Mick Schumacher. The German driver was in contention for a seat at Williams, as the team had decided to move on from Logan Sargeant. Schumacher was one of three contenders, with the other two being Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto.
Lawson couldn't secure the seat because Williams' talks with Red Bull fell through, so it was going to be a toss-up between Schumacher and Colapinto. While the Mercedes academy driver looked all but certain to get the seat, it went to Willams junior Colapinto instead.
At the Italian GP race weekend, Vowles was questioned on why Schumacher didn't get the nod, to which the Williams team principal replied by saying that the German was not special.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has taken exception to the comments made by his former deputy and said that it was a statement he could have done without, telling Sky Sports:
"I've obviously known James for many years. He's a strategist. Sometimes he says things too straightforwardly. That was a statement he could have done without.
"Mick has won everything there is to win, from F4, F3 and F2, and then of course operated in an environment with Gunther (Steiner), who is brutally tough and that was perhaps not what he needed to develop as a driver."
He added:
"That's why he deserved the chance. If you don't give it to him, you shouldn't comment on it. You should let everyone live. That's my opinion."
James is finding his feet in team principal's role: Mercedes boss
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff feels Mick Schumacher was crushed in the environment at Haas and was unable to show how good he could be.
The young German didn't have the best run at Haas, but a part of it could have been attributed to the environment, where principal Guenther Steiner was especially hard on him for the most part.
Wolff added that he understands that Vowles is going through a phase of trying to find his feet in the team principal role but could have chosen his words better, telling the media, including Sportskeeda,
"James is a bright mind and he's finding his feet in the team principal's role. He (could) have chosen his words (better). Mick was crushed in the Haas environment at that stage, but every team needs to take his own decisions for the best interest of the team."
He added:
"Then they also have to decide how they want to talk about their drivers in the media, and so everybody needs to do this in a way that they think is good."
For Mercedes driver Mick Schumacher, a return to F1 seems very unlikely at this stage. There's only one seat left on the grid for 2025 (Sauber), but he's not in contention for that at the moment.
A return to the sport looks tough for Schumacher, so it will be interesting to see what the next phase of his racing career holds.
