The topic of Mick Schumacher has Formula 1 under control. Hardly a day goes by without the ailing Haas pilot being discussed. Again and again it’s about his accidents, his zero-point streak and his future in the motorsport premier class. In an exclusive interview with colleagues from RTL/ntv, team boss Günther Steiner now talks about how much these debates put a strain on the young driver, but also on the team.
When Formula 1 is in Canada this weekend (all sessions in the live ticker at sport.de), Haas team boss Günther Steiner has only one wish again: “Points!” Finally points again. Finally something countable again. Finally something in hand that cools down the grueling discussions about the racing team and its highly criticized top talent Mick Schumacher.
Steiner himself fueled these debates with critical statements. Before the Grand Prix in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, he had said: “He knows the expectations that exist when you have a teammate who scores points. Then you have to match him. And if you don’t do that, it will be difficult.”
In an exclusive interview with RTL/ntv, Steiner is now rowing back a little. But only by the way. Not of his conviction. “You can always do something better. But we should leave the church in the village. Outside influence doesn’t help anyone.”
Steiner: You don’t have to involve the whole world
And it’s huge. Criticism and defensive speeches rain down on Mick and the team from all sides. Not a good location, Steiner thinks. “We have to calm the situation down and not allow ourselves to get nervous.” As an experienced man in the scene, Steiner has acquired a thick skin, but it is not so easy for young drivers to deal with the circumstances.
Steiner emphasizes that everyone can and should have their own opinion. But he also sees it this way: “I don’t think it’s fair that Mick is now getting advice from all sides about what is right and what is wrong. You have to solve that as a team.” Almost everyone would see that the 23-year-old was in a difficult situation. But it is also not easy for the crew when unrest is brought in again.
The Italian doesn’t want to reveal anything about how Steiner and Schumacher have dealt with the situation of the past few weeks. “If he tells me something, it should stay between us and not involve the whole world.”
“He did his best, but it just didn’t work out”
Steiner is aware that his criticism of the accidents and the strain on the team budget caused a stir. But he would like to clarify something. It is just “not a criticism, but a fact.” Steiner believes that Mick understood that as well. “He didn’t make the mistakes on purpose. He did his best, but it just didn’t work out,” says the team boss, referring to Schumacher’s serious accidents.
He built the first in qualifying for the second race of the season in Saudi Arabia. His car hit the wall at over 200 kilometers per hour. He fabricated the second crash in Monaco. In both cases he wrecked his car completely and caused high extra costs for the team.
His advice to the young pilot: “Stay calm and focused. Don’t let yourself go crazy.” Incidentally, Schumacher is a good partner at Kevin Magnussen’s side, for whom Steiner has words of praise.
Steiner: Schumacher has “fair colleagues”
“Mick has his very fair team-mate that he can rely on.” The Dane would not be satisfied with the fact that he has clearly dominated the internal duel so far. “Kevin takes great care of Mick. He wants Mick to be successful too.” How things will continue for the 23-year-old in the coming season, i.e. whether he will continue to sit in the Haas cockpit, has not yet been discussed.
What gives Steiner hope: the announced update to the cars. Even if it comes a little later than planned. “We wanted to have it for France, but we don’t quite get there, but maybe for Hungary.”
The technicians are convinced “that we are making a nice step.” Now we have to find the right balance again and get the first points.
Crash frequency big problem for the team
Steiner believes that there is a fine line between risk at the limit and risk above the limit. The driver himself must assess how far he is willing to go. Using the example of the front wing, the Italian makes it clear how stressful this can be for the team. As a racing team, you would calculate before the season, but if the number of parts required doubled so early, then that would be a problem for the suppliers. It would take three weeks to procure a new part. “We are already way ahead of the plan for the front wings.”
In principle, however, Steiner has no problem with mistakes. This is normal for both the team and the driver. Formula 1 is high-performance sport. It is important how you deal with it. The Haas team immediately apologized to Mick after the bitter breakdown in Baku qualifying. After the race, in which you could keep up very well, it became clear that the mishap may have cost the 23-year-old the first points of the season.
Kevin Magnussen, on the other hand, was on course for points before his power unit failed. A problem that worries Steiner, but whose hands are tied: “I have to rely on Ferrari to work it off. The power unit is very strong and has good performance, but you have the last ones seen in the race that there are weaknesses in stability.” Looking at the track in Montreal, which is very similar to Baku, Steiner says: “Ferrari can’t change anything in the short time available. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen again or we’re lucky.”
Tobias Nordmann and Felix Gorner