As Mick Schumacher remains in trepidation about staying in Formula 1, a Haas insider has revealed just how much the German F1 driver has improved in his second season in the premier class, what were the turning points for the 23-year-old and by how much the previously unplanned engagement of veteran Kevin Magnussen helped the German.
As the senior race engineer for the Haas Formula 1 team, Ayao Komatsu keeps a close eye on the two drivers of the US racing team. He believes Mick Schumacher has benefited “greatly” from the signing of Kevin Magnussen, who replaced Russian driver Nikita Mazepin following Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
At a press conference held by the FIA, the world automotive association, Komatsu continued: “When Kevin came to us in Bahrain for testing, he was a completely different person than he was two years ago.”
At the end of 2020, the hot-blooded Dane had to leave the US racing team after three years and bitter battles against his teammate Romain Grosjean, who also did not get a new contract. Again and again the duo had raked each other in races.
“He has become so open-hearted, appreciates the challenge and is also very open to exchanging information, so Mick benefited greatly from having a reference,” said the race engineer of the 30-year-old, who already competed in 2014-2015 for McLaren and in 2016 for Renault in Formula 1.
Thanks to Magnussen’s support, Mick Schumacher then scored points in the premier class for the first time in the tenth race of his second Formula 1 season by finishing eighth at Silverstone.
Haas race engineer: Schumacher “has improved a lot”
“He was always close to scoring points, but he couldn’t get them,” Komatsu said in retrospect, “but when he got them at Silverstone, it was a big step.” Schumacher “improved a lot this year”, praised the Japanese.
After the British Grand Prix, Schumacher “was under a lot of pressure,” Komatsu continued. An even better sixth place in Austria followed.
In addition to Magnussen’s influence, Schumacher’s meticulous nature also contributed to him doing better in 2022 than in 2021. “He’s a hard worker,” Komatsu gave a deeper insight.
“He always sits with the engineers to understand what he did wrong and where he can improve.” The commitment paid off for Schumacher and gave him self-confidence.
Nevertheless, Schumacher is currently still without a cockpit for 2023, while Magnussen will definitely drive for Haas in the coming year. Most recently, however, it was said that meetings about Schumacher’s future would be held shortly.