Is this the end of the road for Mick Schumacher at Haas? It hasn’t been officially announced anywhere, but Mick Schumacher’s time at Haas looks pretty much over. The statement about the last few races being his final for the time sounds very premature, but if you follow the chatter all over the F1 media, it certainly looks like the statement has its merits. Much was expected from the seven-time F1 World Champion, Michael Schumacher’s son, in his second season. His first season for Haas wasn’t memorable in any way, as he and the team failed to score any points the whole season. However, he got a pass for that because the Haas Formula 1 car for the 2021 season wasn’t simply just fast enough. Haas will be racing at their home Grand Prix in the US this weekend. Mick would certainly love to improve on his performance this weekend.
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Haas F1’s 2022 season in a nutshell
After the departure of Nikita Mazepin and the signing of Kevin Magnussen, Mick had an experienced teammate to compete against this season. Magnussen’s previous experience in F1 and with the Haas F1 team certainly had some rewards. The team is eighth in the constructor’s championship this season, ahead of Alpha Tauri and Williams. They were dead last in 2021. Most of the points of the Haas F1 team have come from the Magnussen’s side of the garage. On the other hand, Schumacher has managed to pile up enormous bills for the team, whose financial conditions couldn’t cope with that for now. It was one thing for Schumacher being inconsistent this season.
Gene Haas on Mick Schumacher’s Future
The fact that he has managed to total his car three times this season certainly hasn’t gone well for the team bosses. Team owner Gene Haas has told the media that Schumacher “costs a fortune” with his crashes, and if Mick wants to drive for Haas in the future, then it will be up to him to improve his performance and force the team to keep him into consideration. He also said at one point that a race win from Mick would keep him in the “Grey Area”.
The statement can be interpreted as Haas having made up his mind to part ways with the German after the end of the season. Even a race win wouldn’t confirm his selection for the next season, but it would keep him in the picture. “If he wants to stay with us, he’s got to show us that he can score some more points. That’s what we are waiting for”, Haas said in an interview.
What went wrong for Schumacher this season?
One of the main reasons Mick hasn’t been able to keep his stock value high for the team is the number of expensive damages he has done to his car throughout the season.
He missed the Saudi Arabia GP altogether because he crashed his vehicle heavily in the qualifying.
He was again the culprit of a massive crash in Monaco where on lap 24, he lost control of the car in the swimming pool section and crashed into the barriers, splitting his car in half.
Recently in the Japanese GP FP1 session, he wrecked the front end of his car after losing control in the wet conditions.
Guenther Steiner came out to the media later and said that the team couldn’t cope with the mounting repair bills that Schumacher has caused this season. Giving such a negative public statement of their driver into the media is something that team principals usually avoid. However, frequent crashes made by Schumacher certainly didn’t help his case.
Will we see Schumacher on the grid for the 2023 season?
Haas F1 team has a few options to replace him next season. Nico Hulkenberg and Antonio Giovinazzi are the top names floating around the F1 paddock as a possible replacements for Schumacher. If Haas splits with Schumacher after this season then he doesn’t have many options remaining on the grid. The only seat left on the grid is at Williams, and other drivers are also chasing that. With four races left on the calendar, Schumacher would have to perform magnificently in the remaining races if he wants to continue racing in F1 in the 2023 season.
