Ferrari Driver Academy member Mick Schumacher took part in his final Formula 1 race at the Yas Marina circuit last weekend, but was left frustrated due to a collision with the Williams of Nicholas Latifi. The German driver explained that he did not see the Canadian driver, as both men spun when Mick Schumacher ran into the Williams driver. While both were initially able to continue, Nicholas Latifi lost time in the pits for damage inspection, and eventually had to retire due to an electrical problem.
The Ferrari junior will not be on the grid for the 2023 Formula 1 season following Haas’ decision to sign countryman Nico Hulkenberg, who will complete the American side’s line-up for 2023 alongside Kevin Magnussen.
However, his final race for Haas was far from the one he had hoped for: the VF-22 car did not have the pace to fight for the top ten at the Yas Marina circuit, before a crash with Williams driver Nicholas Latifi definitely compromised his chances of a points finish in Abu Dhabi.
Mick Schumacher, who was given a five-second penalty after being found guilty of causing a collision, ended the Abu Dhabi Grand rix in P16. Asked about the crash with the Canadian driver, the Ferrari junior explained:
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“In general with these cars you don’t really have a big overview of what is happening in your surroundings. I mean, the tyres are super high, the steering wheel is in your face. So he outbraked himself a bit, went wide, and then came back onto the track. And I didn’t expect that, to be fair. And I just simply didn’t see him. So frustrating at the end, I still managed to kind of get some good laps in, but by the end, the tyres were just gone. So yeah, a frustrating one, not the best, but we’ll look ahead.” – the German driver add.
When asked if he feels the five-second penalty was in fact a fair one, Mick Schumacher replied:: “To be honest, I don’t really care.”
The Ferrari Driver Academy member also shared his thoughts on the overall performance in this final round of the 2022 Formula 1 season, which was far below the pace shown by the Haas car in qualifying: “On the one lap, things always look a bit different because you can as a driver really get everything out of it in the race. It’s a bit more difficult [in the race] I’d say just because you have different components, winds change, tyres the moment you lock up, the tools, the systems, everything has to be perfect to get the best out of the race. And simply today that wasn’t the case.”
At the same time, Mick Schumacher admitted that his last appearance in Formula 1 (for now) did not feel different to a usual race weekend: “Not really, actually, I was surprised. It didn’t feel for one that it’s the last race of the season. And two, it didn’t feel like my last race. So again, my mind is pretty much set on coming back in ’24.” – the Ferrari junior concluded.
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