Is Schumacher's F1 future at Haas now gone after Mexico result?
Oct.31 - Mick Schumacher's fate at Haas may now have been sealed.
It is rumoured the small American team has decided to split with the 23-year-old German, after owner Gene Haas indicated that only a late string of points-scoring results would safeguard his seat for 2023.
In Mexico, the son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher was on course for a strong qualifying result when he cut a corner and could not get out of Q1.
Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Haas F1
When asked what boss Gunther Steiner said about the incident, Schumacher revealed: "He saw that I was fast and he said that it was a shame."
Mick's uncle Ralf told Sky Deutschland: "I have to agree with Mick that he has the pace.
"But such mistakes actually shouldn't happen. It happened even to Hamilton, but that shouldn't be an excuse. It's a learning process but he has to be learning quickly.
"He was in a different world compared to his teammate, but that alone makes it more difficult for the team to make a decision," Schumacher added.
"The team is relying on him, especially with his pace."
Veteran F1 commentator Martin Brundle agrees, calling Schumacher's mistake "silly".
The latest rumour is that Haas has now definitively decided to replace Schumacher with the German veteran Nico Hulkenberg, who has been out of F1 full-time since the end of 2019.
The deal could be announced immediately before the forthcoming Brazilian GP.
It is believed Antonio Giovinazzi is no longer in the running for the seat and will instead drive a factory-prepared Ferrari in the world endurance championship.
"We will get to a decision - hopefully soon," Steiner said in Mexico. "But nothing is decided 100 percent yet.
"We are just going through the last details of what we have to sort out, and then we will make a decision. This is an important decision for the team, and there is enough to focus on to get better."
Indeed, another issue for Haas is engine reliability, amid constant rumours that the team might be considering a move away from Ferrari power.
"It should be ok now with the new power units that are coming in, and hopefully for next year it is resolved because we had quite a few issues this year," said Steiner.
"It is not completely out of our hands because we can go somewhere else, but that is maybe a worse decision for us. There are always pros and cons to everything."
The good news for Haas is the cash-injection of a new title sponsor for 2023 and beyond. Reports indicate the Moneygram deal is worth $20 million a year.
Continuing Haas driver Kevin Magnussen thinks the team will spend the money wisely.
"Our pitstops are not slow because our mechanics are bad," he insisted to the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet. "Our equipment is just old.
"Ours is from 2016 - it's 2022 now. That's 100,000 years in Formula 1."
✅ Check out more posts with related topics:
Once again, hastily making conclusions. Haas lacked race pace, so both drivers struggled. Even if Mick had started closer or within the top ten, he probably would've dropped out of points in any case.
Jere, nobody is a bigger Mick fan than me, but the best bet now is that he is toast. I would love to be wrong.
Let's start at the end of the article: "Our pitstops are not slow because our mechanics are bad," he insisted to the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet. "Our equipment is just old. Ours is from 2016 - it's 2022 now. That's 100,000 years in Formula 1."
That demonstrates a champagne set of requirements being met with a beer budget. Indicative of a management mind-set that falls under the "Cheapo-Cheapo" heading.
So naturally, that would saturate the whole team ethos. Which by extension finds expression in how things are done. There is nothing worse in the world than working for managers that are willing to take short-cuts. It never ends well.
In F1 ya gotta win to make $$. So I can see the Haas garage getting pretty toxic when all the expectations get focused on the drivers, who have to flog the donkey around the track lap after lap knowing the result will be the same - a derisive scowl and sarcastic "Good job". Yeah, I'd crash out on purpose too just to get fired.
You're on a roll, my Canadian friend. A turd is a turd is a turd. So, abandon the future and bring in another journeyman wheelman. I like HUL but 8 full years in F1 and not even a podium? Sounds like a perfect fit.
Just to put another thought into the mix 2016 equipment, it doesn't actually mean the guns are 6yr old, they could be "New" Old stock, the cost of these would be considerably less than buying the current model of guns, whereas the extra speed advantage of new guns for a mid field team is minimal, I'm not saying it is this , but it Could Be .
IMO Mick's many excursions have been costly not only for the team budget, but also for Mick. It seems Mick tried to overachieve in a car that has proven itself to be an uncompetitive slug. It would have been interesting to see him in a mid-field team to give him a better opportunity to show his skills.
✅ Checkout the latest 50 F1 Fans comments.