Gunther Steiner explains why he fired Mick Schumacher: “That year we were struggling”. Gunther Steiner on why he fired former Ferrari Driver Academy member Mick Schumacher.

Gunther Steiner, interviewed at Autosport International 2024, shared his insights on many topics, starting from the separation with Haas, discussing his future, and concluding by dedicating the last quarter-hour to respond to numerous fans and enthusiasts who had gathered just for him. Below are some of his responses.

Gunther Steiner answers questions from fans:

Several interesting questions came from the audience. One person asked the South Tyrolean which pair of drivers he would choose if he could pick them from any era of Formula 1. Steiner responded without much thought: “I would take Max Verstappen and Niki Lauda. In his time, Lauda was the man you could rely on, and even if he wasn’t the fastest, you knew he would bring home excellent results.”

When a young fan asked who he would prefer between the two current Haas drivers, Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, the former team principal responded in his usual manner: “Do you have a brother or sister? If I asked you who you like more, what would you say? For me, it’s the same thing. Seriously, I think they are both good drivers.”

“Nico last year proved to be one of the best qualifiers in Formula 1, and if you give Kevin a good car to fight in meaningful positions, he will be there.”

Speaking of this topic, he explained why he wanted to bring Kevin Magnussen into the team: “In 2021, we had two rookies, and it was a tough season. We knew that K Mag already knew the team, and we had only two or three weeks to integrate him. In my opinion, that was the best possible decision. The main reason was that he already knew the project, and we knew he was strong. We took no risks thanks to him.”

Another topic addressed was Sprint Races and the extra-large calendar rumored to reach up to thirty dates in the coming years. The Italian-American expressed support for hundred-kilometer races but emphasized the need to find a way to lighten the workload for mechanics and all team members. In his words, “I would keep the sprint races. Modifying them, looking at the overall calendar, would be an idea, but in general, this creates interest in the championship. When you have a 24-race season, changing things a bit is interesting because otherwise, it becomes the same cycle of GPs. I believe the variety of events is essential; you need to keep historical ones like Monza or Silverstone and then add new ones like Miami or Las Vegas. Having Sprints is great for a 24-event calendar.”

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“Going beyond 24 per season is possible, but I think everything needs to be rethought because the teams are at their limit. So, maybe to have 30 races a year, two different teams would be needed, along with more personnel and equipment, because otherwise, going beyond 24 will be very complicated.”

Another interesting question posed to Gunther was: imagining a starting grid where all drivers have the same car, who would win? Steiner, joking a bit before responding, said, “Now I’ll say at least nineteen people. Speaking seriously, I think Max because he currently has the best focus and motivation. He is driving really well and has the confidence not to make mistakes.”

However, the most burning question came at the end of the discussion when a child asked the former Haas team principal why he had fired Mick Schumacher. Immediately, Gunther Steiner replied: “Thanks, everyone, it’s been a pleasure to be here… Honestly, I’m not avoiding this question, but we simply decided that we wanted someone with more experience in the team because that year we were struggling. For this reason, we decided to change the driver and did not renew his contract.” – Gunther Steiner explained.

After Haas decided not to extend his contrac, Mick Schumacher also left the Ferrari Driver Academy and joined Mercedes.