Schumacher linked upܫ with Mercedes this season in a role as their third driver, backing up Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

He was axed last year by Haas who were l𝐆eft frustrated by his crashes and his inexperience.

"I t𝐆hink he deserves to be o𒆙n the grid," said Wolff.

"The moment you're not feeling confident in a car over a prolonged period, the more pressure you put on yourself, the less good you perform, and I think this happen𒁃ed at Haas.

"He is quick♐ – if you win Fඣ3 and F2, there is high potential in you, and he was never able to show it [in F1].

"I'm glad we✅ have a third driver that I know will do the job if one of ours eats a bad fish!

"But his contribution in the simulator is tremendous, and th🧸at makes us sometimes do these big jumps from Friday to Saturday, because he's driving his socks off ove💮rnight."

Schumacher was particularly praised for aꦍ late-n🍨ight finish on the simulator ahead of the British Grand Prix which boosted Mercedes’ hopes.

Ahead of this weekend’s F1 Italian Grand Prix, he wil☂l know that there aren’t too many options for full-time race seats on the 2024 grid.

The under-pressure Logan Sargeant has been backed by Williams but Schumac🐎her remains a high-profile📖 name that any F1 team could turn to.