Only recently, ex-Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone no longer confirmed Mick Schumacher’s future in Formula 1 after the German lost his Haas cockpit and became a reservist at Mercedes. Norbert Haug, the former Head of Mercedes Motorsport, sees things differently.
“It’s by far the best thing that could have happened to him. There’s no question about it,” he said in an interview with Formula 1 broadcaster Sky. After all, Mercedes is one of the top teams and can support and challenge Schumacher junior accordingly.
“Mick is known to be a learner, an open-minded, clever young guy. He’ll absorb it. It’s a completely new experience for him,” says Haug. He emphasizes that he also has great respect for the Haas team. “These are not the so-called nose drills, not at all. They are all professionals who are in Formula 1 today. But Mercedes belongs to the upper house.”
Haug believes that Schumacher can still learn a lot there if team boss Toto Wolff takes him under his wing. “I used to do that too. We were always asked how do you coach your drivers? We didn’t coach them specifically, but we sat next to each other on the plane for hours.”
“On a 10-hour trip, for example. There are conversations that you can’t have in a conference room. On air travel you can really talk relaxed for hours, which you never do otherwise. No one can run away, which is also good. That’s it always a very, very nice place to exchange things.”
“You can’t learn how to drive a car fast,” says the 70-year-old. “Mick can do that better than any team boss. But you can learn the background. You can learn to think outside the box, which Michael was brilliant at – think to the end, anticipate what’s lurking around the next corner.”
What Haug Schumacher advises at Mercedes
Mick Schumacher could also acquire that by absorbing everything and asking his interlocutor “the proverbial hole in the stomach”, Haug advises him.
“These are the comrades who are making progress. And there were the Vettels and the Schumachers and the Rosbergs and the Hamiltons and everyone who then made it to a world title. They were no different. None of them gave up. The asked, asked, asked and sometimes even asked so many times that you literally tore your hair out,” he admits.
“It can be challenging. But of course I enjoyed it when a driver really dug into it. And I think it’s very important that the boss, the supervisor, always talks to the mostly younger drivers on an equal footing.”
That’s exactly what you can do very well at Mercedes, says the former head of motorsport. Of all the opportunities that would have existed for Schumacher, he considers the one with the German car manufacturer to be the best: “He can do something with it.”
Although Haug says with a view to Schumacher’s limited time on the track: “Nobody wishes the active drivers anything that they have to be replaced. But maybe in another team, maybe he’ll get a test drive, maybe he’ll get Friday training, out of turn or what ever.”
“And I also think that you can already see from the simulator work what Mick brings to the party. And if he designs the right debriefing with the engineers, if he’s good and gives good feedback, then they’ll do it with their tongues click and say I’d like to work with Mick, he gives us tips and he takes us further. The chance is there,” Haug remains confident.
Schumacher can become “a real good man”.
Of course, Schumacher has to stay on the ball, work hard and keep learning. “But I have absolutely no doubt that he will do that. And he will never put the Schumacher name in front. I think in many cases this is of course associated with much greater expectations, of course.”
From Haug’s point of view, Schumacher faced this pressure brilliantly – even at the moment of defeat: “I don’t want to sing Mick Schuhmacher’s praises. But how he dealt with the problems of the last year in interviews, a driver who never bad word about his team, that’s the real pro.”
“I know a few other cronies who have been driving in Formula 1 for a long time, of course you, the journalists, prefer them to really hit the nail on the head. But Mick is the super professional. You can only say that ‘Hats off,'” says Haug.
“And if this ability also takes place in a racing car, I trust him, then he has the potential to be and become a really good guy,” adds the German.
In this context, he also indirectly criticizes Günther Steiner, who was often harsh with Schumacher in the media. “Maybe I’m from the so-called old school, but a driver doesn’t criticize his team publicly and a team boss doesn’t criticize his driver publicly.”
“He can maybe raise his eyebrows and say, I won’t say anything about it now or let me sleep over it for a night or something. But really controversial, driver against team or team against driver”, that’s going too far for Haug.
“Of course, the questions are asked in such a way that the interlocutor kindly explodes. But it’s quite good if you can master that. And if Mick can do it at 22, there’s no risk of explosion in the interview, no matter what you try with me, I will don’t get lost. That’s a pretty good basis.”