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Charouz Racing System announced that David Schumacher will replace Ayrton Simmons at Imola this weekend.
The son of seven-time Formula 1 race winner Ralf Schumacher is set to race in Formula 3 for the fourth time, after losing his seat at the end of last season.
The reasons for Simmons’ absence are currently unclear, with Charouz describing the situation as “extremely difficult”.
Schumacher also joined the team at in-season testing in Barcelona recently.
Why did Schumacher leave F3 in the first place?
After racing in the series full-time for two years, the 20-year-old was hoping to progress to Formula 2.
However, his performance was not enough to secure sponsorship to fund a seat.
Moving on from his failure to score points in both 2019 and 2020, Schumacher achieved 55 points last season. He won the second Sprint Race at the Red Bull Ring last year, achieving 15 points. However, compared to teammates Jack Doohan and Clement Novalak, this paled in comparison. Doohan scored 179 points and Novalak finished the season with 147 points . Doohan and Novalak now both race in Formula 2.
With no opportunity to move up to the next series, he originally had plans to drive for Mercedes in DTM this year.
Schumacher explained: “This was the step we had to take for the time being, because we didn’t find enough sponsors for Formula 2, but we also got a good offer with Mercedes and HTP-Winward.”
??David Schumacher enters DTM 2022 ??
David #Schumacher will race for @MercedesAMG team @HTPMotorsport in the upcoming season. Welcome, David! ?#DTM #DTM2022 #WeLoveDTM #FeelTheRoarhttps://t.co/RIhmVaZKdA— DTM (@DTM) February 22, 2022
The problem of funding:
Father, Ralf Schumacher has described the issues with finding the money to compete in the upper echelons of motorsport, a topic that has become more prominent in recent years.
Speaking to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, he said: “The path to Formula 1 is simply no longer affordable.
“We had two or three small supporters, but until now I basically paid for everything. And now there was nothing to be found, Formula 2 doesn’t stand out strongly enough as a format.
“Still, I had hoped that there would be more interest from David. It would certainly have worked well in synergy with Mick.”
Finding an F1 seat alongside cousin Mick Schumacher seems increasingly unlikely for the young racer.
“You spend about 10 years in karting, averaging €150,000/200,000 then I’m at two million,” Ralf explained. “Then comes Formula 4, which is also another two years. If I run Formula 4 properly, then I’m at around €450,000 per season. Then we’re already at 2.9 million.”
Many have criticised the price of competing, with several drivers failing to progress or even abandoning racing due to the high costs.
Feature Image Credit: Getty Images