Jeddah (dpa) – Mick Schumacher feels inspired by the good start of his Haas team in the new Formula 1 season.
“It’s extremely nice to have a car that you can fight with, where you can feel the potential and notice the progress,” said the 23-year-old before the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday (7 p.m. / Sky). After the comprehensive rule reform with heavily modified cars, the Haas team, which was left behind last year, is significantly more competitive. “You can see that we are much further ahead than last year. We have a very consistent car,” said Schumacher.
In particular, his new teammate Kevin Magnussen made a strong start to the World Cup year in fifth place in Bahrain. The Dane replaced the dismissed Russian Nikita Masepin shortly before the last test drives. Haas is given a boost by the Ferrari engine, which is significantly better this year. “We may have made the biggest step there compared to last year,” said Schumacher.
The son of record world champion Michael Schumacher had to settle for eleventh place in Bahrain after a collision at the start of the race through no fault of his own. It was quickly said that Schumacher was now under much more pressure because of Magnussen’s turbo start. “You shouldn’t read too much into this first race. The car feels great. It’s a potential top five car. I don’t see why I couldn’t do it too,” said Schumacher.
He “could only dream of” having such a position last year. In 2021, the Formula 1 newcomer had no points and mostly drove far behind. Now he has a lot more fun on the track in the close competition. “It’s better than driving around alone,” said Schumacher.