Ferrari Driver Academy Mick Schumacher’s future in Formula One depends heavily on how he fares against his Haas team-mate Kevin Magnussen, former F1 driver David Coulthard believes. Mick Schumacher was seen as a rising star after his convincing performances against Nikita Mazepin during the 2021 Formula 1 season, but the Ferrari junior has had a difficult start to the new campaign.
So far, Mick Schumacher has been pretty much outshineed by Kevin Magnussen, who was called in to replace Nikita Mazepin. The Dane made his Formula 1 comeback at short notice after one year out and has scored points in three out of four races so far. Kevin Magnussen has already scored 15 points ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, while Mick Schumacher, along with Nicholas Latifi, is one of only two drivers without points.
“Mick’s future depends in many ways on the comparison with Kevin,” David Coulthard told the Dutch edition of ‘Motorsport.com’ at an IWC Schaffhausen charity event which took place at the Miami Beach Golf Club – “When you get into Formula One you are given a rookie year, but then you have to deliver,” the Scot said. “People don’t wait for you to become quick. You have to be.”
Mick beats Magnussen “only with hard work”
So far, the German’s career has actually gone to plan: the Ferrari junior was champion in Formula 3 and Formula 2 and, according to David Coulthard, also had a “very good first season in which he established himself.”
The unknown, however, was the comparison with team-mate Nikita Mazepin. Mick Schumacher clearly won the fight with the Russian driver, but at the same time the Haas was too slow to compete with any other cars in 2021. Things have changed this season with the arrival of Kevin Magnussen and the improve performance of Haas: there is now a comparison – and in that Mick Schumacher is currently still inferior.
“In Kevin he now has someone he can only beat with hard work,” says David Coulthard, preferring to highlight the Dane’s performance rather than belittle that of his predecessor Nikita Mazepin. “The fact that he’s consistently getting the Haas into the points shows that it was the right decision to bring him back.”
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Coulthard: Magnussen drives “liberated”
But the fact that he currently has such a grip on Mick Schumacher also surprises the former vice world champion. He explains it in such a way that Magnussen had actually already finished with Formula 1 and is now getting another unexpected second chance in which he has nothing to lose – “It seems he is driving liberated,” he says. “In his first career with McLaren and Haas, there was always some anger in his style.”
Now, however, Kevin Magnussen is simply driving consistently well and is 3-1 up against Mick Schumacher in both qualifying and race duels, ahead of the Miami Grand Prix – “Mick has had it quite easy against Mazepin so far, but now he is aware that he has a fast team-mate in Kevin. And that has pushed Mick. He has to step up now. I think it’s a fascinating battle. It will be interesting to see how Haas will develop.” – the former F1 driver concluded.
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