Emerson Fittipaldi: "Mick this year has done a very good job, he is dedicated and has improved"

Emerson Fittipaldi: “Mick this year has done a very good job, he is dedicated and has improved”. Emerson Fittipaldi on Mick.

Emerson Fittipaldi, the retired Brazilian automobile racing driver who won both the Formula 1 World Championship and the Indianapolis 500 twice each as well as the CART championship once, urged the Formula 1 teams and the FIA to work together more closely and focus more on prioritizing talent as the key factor for young drivers when they receive a chance to race in Formula 1, rather than the financial support they can bring to the team through their sponsors.

Drivers that pay to be able to take part in the Formula 1 championship is not something new for the sport. During the years there have been many talented drivers that did not get a chance in the most important motor racing series due to the fact that other, less capable drivers, had the financial resources to buy their way into Formula 1.

In order to limit this, the FIA took several measures, like the introduction of the superlicence concept, but it is still a common situation in the sport. It is enough to think that three of the last four Formula 2 title-winners were not able to find a seat in F1 despite their strong performances. The only exception is Ferrari junior Mick Schumacher, who won the Formula 1 title two years ago and was signed by Haas also thanks to the support of the Maranallo team.

When asked about the current difficult situation that Mick Schumacher through, Emerson Fittipaldi pointed out that there are still too many pay drivers in Formula 1. Mick Schumacher’s future with Haas is uncertain, as the American team is still evaluating its options for the 2023 season. Two-time world champion Emerson Fittipaldi feels this situation may be caused by the fact that Haas could be waiting to offer the seat to a driver with cash to burn.

“I think Mick this year has done a very good job. He improved a lot – I cannot judge,” Emerson Fittipaldi said, in a recent interview for VegasInsider. “Unfortunately, in racing today all the way from karting, Formula 4, Formula 3, and Formula 2, money makes the difference. We have a tremendous wave of kids with a lot of money and sponsors who come to racing and want to be an F1 driver, but sometimes the talent is not good. And then you have a possible driver, like Mick Schumacher, who has good talent, is dedicated, and makes a good effort to be in Formula 1.” – he added.

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“If the team made that comment that he is too expensive for the team [because of his costly crashes this season] that means the team needs someone with money. That is something we have to change for the future. We need more talent and less money in racing. That’s the vision I have for the future. Unfortunately, we all have to work together to achieve that. The FIA, Formula 1, the teams, and the sponsors have to make that change for the future. It has to be a global mutual effort to change that for the future. I hope we can make it work.” – the former F1 driver concluded.