Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher, has graduated from Formula 2 racing and will be joining Haas F1 Team for the 2021 season. The US-based team said the 21-year-old had signed a “multi-year contract”.

Schumacher gets an early start on his preparations as a full-time Formula 1 driver – driving the team’s VF-20 in FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Friday 11 December, before participating in the end of season young driver test at Yas Marina Circuit, Tuesday 15 December.  Schumacher (21), a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA) and the son of seven-time FIA Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher, leads the Formula 2 title race heading into the final round of the season at Bahrain International Circuit (R12 4-6 December).

The PREMA racer becomes the seventh driver to make the step up from F2 to F1 since the Championship’s rebranding in 2017. Schumacher currently leads the standings by 205 points, 14 ahead of fellow FDA driver Callum Ilott.  The Ferrari-powered outfit confirmed the departures of Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen in October and it has been widely expected that Schumacher would take one of the two seats, due to the team’s relationship with the Scuderia.

While Ferrari had their eye on Schumacher for a place in the F1 seat for a long time, an inconsistent debut season put pressure on the German to deliver in 2020. However, by taking two wins and 10 podiums – including seven in the last 11 races, Schumacher left little room for doubt.  Schumacher was inducted into the FDA in January 2019, on the back of winning the European Formula 3 Championship, aligning him with the same team that his father so famously won five World Championships with.

Schumacher’s F1 debut next year will come on the 30th anniversary of his father’s own entry to the sport, at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix.