It’s one of those stories that only sport writes. In this case, however, it is an extremely unpleasant Formula 1 story for Mick Schumacher: The Haas driver retired in qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix in Interlagos as last in Q1 – while teammate Kevin Magnussen raced to pole!
Schumacher had all the prerequisites to go one lap further, like his Haas colleague. On the drying lap, he received slick tires before his team-mate. But how does the difference of 2.4 seconds per Magnussen come about?
“I had to drive into the wet in my out-lap to let Esteban and Sebastian pass, which of course didn’t do my tires any good,” Schumacher brings up a possible theory after Q1-Aus in an interview with “Sky Germany”.
Mick Schumacher: Dodge or just too hesitant?
“I think that deficit in temperatures gave a big difference in grip, especially on this first lap, and didn’t really give me that feeling that I could go faster on the second lap.”
Haas team boss Günther Steiner brings another explanation into play. According to Steiner, Schumacher would have been “a bit too hesitant” on the slightly damp track in the middle of Sao Paulo, “because we had just switched to dry tires.”
The bottom line is that Schumacher was about 1.5 seconds short of entering the second qualifying section. His best time was 1:16.361 minutes, that of Daniel Ricciardo in P15 was 1:14.931 minutes. A time difference that can definitely come about if the Pirelli tires are not in the right temperature window.
Haas team boss: “Mick should say to himself: There’s still something going on”
Steiner is still optimistic about his driver’s chances: “Even if he starts from so far behind: He saw what was possible today. He should say to himself: There’s still something to do.” Especially since Schumacher can put himself in a better position in the sprint.
Haas team boss Steiner also gives this slogan to the German when he says: “He has to try to gain as many positions as possible in the sprint so that he has a good starting position on Sunday. Because then it’s about more points.” And points are the stated goal for Schumacher if he wants to recommend himself to Haas for another year.
The German, meanwhile, regrets his exit in Q1: “It’s a shame because our car was actually really strong today. That’s why we could have really done something good.” But while Magnussen delivered the absolute maximum and started from pole for the first time in his Formula 1 career, Schumacher now has to start a race to catch up.