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Mick Schumacher's mother, Corinna Schumacher, reportedly talked with James Vowles at the Italian GP. This was regarding the Williams' boss's comments that Michael Schumacher's son was not special.
After Logan Sargeant crashed in the Dutch GP practice session, the British team decided that it was time to replace the American driver, who had been struggling. The team decided to hire their junior driver Franco Colapinto for the rest of the 2024 F1 season.
A few days after the announcement, Vowles talked about the thought process that went into choosing an interim driver before Carlos Sainz's the team in 2025. During this explanation, he said that the team considered Mick Schumacher as well, but the driver was "good" but "not special".
“I think both [Logan and Mick] would fall into a category of good, not special. I think we have to be straightforward about this. Mick isn’t special, he would just have been good. I think he would have come with a lot more experience than Franco does,” Vowles said.
Following his comments, according to Motorsport Magazine, the young German's mother confronted Vowles in the paddock during the Italian GP on Friday and had a heated conversation with him. The report added the paddock was crowded and the talk was not behind closed doors.
Following his comments about Mick Schumacher, the Williams team boss has issued an apology.
Williams team boss apologizes, explains "not special" remark about Mick Schumacher
James Vowles has explained what he meant when he said Mick Schumacher was "not special."
Speaking to F1.com, he said that Mercedes hiring the 25-year-old as a reserve driver proves that he had some of what the eight-time world champions sought.
“First and foremost, I’m not here to put Mick down. Mick is in a World Championship team [Mercedes] that have chosen him as a reserve driver, and there’s good reason behind it. It’s because he’s an incredibly strong candidate,” Vowles said.
He explained that he used the word "special" to refer to multiple world champions. The Williams team boss added he thought it was "foolish" to have compared drivers like that.
“The word special, I used it in the context of multiple world champions like Ayrton Senna, Lewis [Hamilton] as well. Clearly that’s a foolish thing to do, because that’s the comparison,” he added.
As of now, Mick Schumacher drives for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship series. He also works for Mercedes as a reserve driver, including doing simulator work.
