In his Formula One debut for partner team Haas, Mick Schumacher will show whether he is good enough to earn a place at Ferrari, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto says.
Schumacher, the son of Ferrari legend and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA).
The 21-year-old is moving up to F1 with Haas after winning the Formula Two Championship in 2020.
“Mick is part of our FDA and the FDA programme is not there to develop drivers for F1, but it’s there to develop drivers that one day may drive a Ferrari seat, a red car,” The F1 website on Tuesday quoted Binotto as saying.
“When you move from F2 and jump into F1, the very first year cannot be directly into a red car because that would be too much responsibility and not enough experience.
“So knowing that we’ve got customer teams or partners on which we may count to continue developing our drivers in F1 is an important element.”
Schumacher will drive at Haas alongside young Russian Nikita Mazepin in the season starting on March 28 in Bahrain.
Another Ferrari-backed driver is Italy’s Antonio Giovinazz at Alfa Romeo.
Ferrari’s drivers are Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz who both have multi-year deals.
Haas is an American F1 racing team with a close relationship with Ferrari, who supply engines to the team.