Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner said that his team should have as much of a say over the future of Ferrari junior Mick Schumacher as the Maranello team. The younger German is a member of the Italian team’s driver academy and made his Formula One debut for Haas last season, with Ferrari that pushed for Mick to get this opportunity as a result of their links with the American team, after the German driver won the Formula 2 world championship.
Mick Schumacher is learning the ropes with Haas, which has not been an easy task, especially during the 2021 Formula 1 campaign. Last season Haas had an entirely uncompetitive car, that did not allow Mick Schumacher to hope for anything more than an internal battle with former teammate Nikita Mazepin, which the Ferrari junior comfortably won. Haas focused their efforts on improving the car for the 2022 Formula 1 season, which was deigned based on the completely new rules and regulations, but it has been a difficult start for Mick, with some incidents and crashes that did not help his cause.
However, things look to be improving for Mick Schumacher, after finally getting that breakthrough he had been working for: the German driver took his maiden Formula 1 points in the British Grand Prix, where he also challenger the Red Bull RB18 of Max Verstappen, even though the Dutchman was driving with a damaged car. Last weekend in Spielberg, Mick was involved in another great battle against a Formula 1 world champion, this time with Lewis Hamilton, on the way to another top-10 finish at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Haas boss Guenther Steiner admitted to being pleased with the latest results after expressing his dissatisfaction towards the Ferrari junior’s performance in the first part of the 2022 Formula 1 season, especially for the incidents in Jeddah and Monaco. If his stronger form continues, there is no doubt Haas would extend his contract for the 2023 F1 championship.
Mick Schumacher’s current deal with Haas is available until the end of the 2022 campaign, and despite the fact that Scuderia Ferrari have no room among their own driver lineup until 2025 given the contracts of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, there have been indications that the Maranello team would also consider a possible move to Alfa Romeo for Mick, or maybe to a different team on the grid. Guenther Steiner did not rule out a contract extension of the German driver, but at the same time pointed out that Ferrari’s say is not necessarily final when it comes to Mick Schumacher’s seat for the 2023 campaign.
Gunther Steiner admitted that he has already received ‘pressure’ from Ferrari to renew the German’s deal, as the Maranello team wants Mick Schumacher to continue his progress with the hope of one day becoming a serious candidate for a seat in Ferrari, following in his father’s footsteps.
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“I won’t talk about any Ferrari contracts with us,” he told Motorsport-Total.com . “And also not about contracts between Ferrari and Mick because I don’t know those in detail either. You can’t conclude Ferrari tell us what to do. We have a say in that. At Haas we never talk about renewals before the summer break” – emphasized Gunther Steiner, therefore postponing all discussions until after the Hungarian GP – “I do not hide it, some people in Ferrari are anxious for discussions to begin. But we will do that according to our timing, not because people ask for it”.
According to the Haas boss, the Schumacher name could turn into a problem for Mick: “His surname has a long history in Formula 1. But it can also become a handicap if things don’t go well. For the moment [things] are working out. Now we need to stabilize it. I think Mick has even more potential – he concluded – and it’s part of the game that things get difficult sometimes when you try to find out. But what kind of team leader would I be if I didn’t push my driver?”
Mick Schumacher now has 12 points to his name ahead of the 2022 French Grand Prix, with Haas reaching the total of 34 points as they continue they duel with Alfa Romeo.
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