Accidents, driving mistakes, a poor performance, Mick Schumacher’s second year is – to put it mildly – unlucky. Also at the race in Baku, the 23-year-old was out of reach of the points. And worst of all: his teammate Kevin Magnussen drives him in the face every race weekend. Also in Azerbaijan. Only a technical defect stopped his Haas. In terms of lap times, Schumacher is miles behind the Dane.
And Schumacher? Escapes in perseverance slogans. “We had hoped for more. We weren’t where we wanted to be in terms of pace. Only in the last stint, but by then it was too late. The whole weekend was difficult. Canada is a new start,” said the Haas driver “Sky” mic. reboot? again? Seven races of the season have been completed. Without success. And there is no sign of a positive trend.
Schumacher is still groping in the dark about his sobering performance. No progress on his debut season. On the contrary. He is still waiting for his first championship point. “We know that our car has not been further developed. Many other cars do, that doesn’t help us,” emphasized Schumacher. An explanation, but not a sufficient one. Especially with a view to teammate Magnussen, who already has 15 World Cup points to his credit.
At Haas there is fire under the roof
Magnussen, without question a solid pilot with a lot of experience. However, not top caliber. Schumacher has to be measured by the performance of the 29-year-old. And these speak volumes. In almost every qualifying, almost every race, he is inferior to Magnussen. “It didn’t look good, the gaps were too big,” said uncle and “Sky” expert Ralf Schumacher, looking at the duel within the team.
At Haas there is a lot of fire under the roof in view of the Schumacher personnel. Above all, Günther Steiner reacted very irritated to the topic. With his public criticism of Schumacher, the team boss has drawn the displeasure of many F1 protagonists. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, for example, demonstratively backed Schumacher in the “RTL” interview. All of this really bothers Steiner, as became clear before the race in Baku.
Steiner seethed with anger
“The camp is split from the outside,” Steiner complained on Sky and criticized the media. “We want Mick to be successful. It’s up to us how we do it. We don’t need advice. The division of the team from the outside is not good for Mick.”
The South Tyrolean slams criticism of his dealings with Schumacher: “I’m trying to keep the pressure off Mick. I need Mick, Mick needs us. And we have to work together. There’s a lot of pressure from outside, every word is turned around. I am who I am and neither will you change me.”
“Yes, I’m annoyed”
Haas’s nerves are on edge. In the team. And especially at Schumacher. “Yes, I’m annoyed because the whole situation is a bit stupid,” he said after qualifying. There is a lot at stake for Schumacher. He is driving for his future in the premier class. If the son of the record champion doesn’t get results soon, his career could end before it really begins.
Because many young drivers are in the starting blocks, are hot for a place in the F1 cockpit. In a week he has the next chance to prove himself in Canada. And he has to use this slowly but surely.