Mick Schumacher's Formula 1 career could be over after just two seasons, according to reports in Germany.
The German is in his second season with Haas, but his current contract with the team expires at the end of the season. So far there has been little indication as to whether or not the deal will be renewed, though team chief Guenther Steiner has given some hints in recent weeks.
One of them came last month, when he insisted his team has just as much of a say over his future as Ferrari. Schumacher is part of the Italian team's development programme and fulfils reserve duties for the outfit that was once synonymous with his father's name.
Given Schumacher is currently set to become a free agent at the end of the year, the retiring Sebastian Vettel sparked speculation when he suggested his fellow German could take his place at Aston Martin. But those rumours were quickly shut down when Fernando Alonso was chosen to fill that seat just a few days later.
Of the situation, pundit Felix Gorner told RTL : "Sebastian's good words to Lawrence Stroll didn't help. That means there is only Haas for [Schumacher] next season. It's now important for him to negotiate well in the next few weeks to secure his seat."
But according to German newspaper Bild , Schumacher might even have trouble keeping hold of his own seat. "Initial talks" have taken place with Haas, but the report claims: "The relationship between the two parties is difficult. Guenther Steiner has been publicly critical of Mick in the past."
It goes on to say the young German may even be losing the support of Mattia Binotto, which would be disastrous for his dreams of following in his father's footsteps by one day racing for Ferrari.
Schumacher's uncle Ralf, himself a former F1 driver, has been critical of both his nephew and the team in the past. Just last week he said the 23-year-old "should have delivered better results", and previously slammed Haas and Steiner for their own public criticism.
But now he seems on board with the idea of Mick continuing with the American team. "For my nephew, Aston Martin would have been a good option," he told Sky Germany . "But he's already with a team in Haas that is doing a good job and making progress.
"Mick's performance has improved significantly over the past few weeks, so I can well imagine them staying together. I don't know what else Haas could do, because there aren't that many experienced drivers on the market. And we can see that new drivers need a long start-up time with these cars and no testing."
