Toto Wolff believes Mick Schumacher was never given a proper opportunity to showcase his abilities in Formula 1.
The son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher joined Mercedes as a reserve driver for the 2023 and 2024 seasons after parting ways with Haas due to poor performance. However, Mercedes announced in Qatar that the 25-year-old will leave the role following next weekend's Abu Dhabi GP finale.
"He is a really great young man with the right values," Wolff told Sky Deutschland. "He is very intelligent, but unfortunately he never really got a chance in Formula 1 with the right environment."
Schumacher is set to focus on racing in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with Alpine, including a campaign at Le Mans, as he steps away from the F1 paddock.
Wolff believes Schumacher's decision to pivot toward WEC is the right move at this stage of his career.
"It has come to a point where the constant waiting makes little sense and he now wants to race," the Mercedes boss said. "He will certainly do that very successfully."
While Schumacher has chosen to leave Mercedes, it is widely expected that Valtteri Bottas, a former Mercedes race winner, will take over the reserve driver role in 2025.
