Why didn’t Mick Schumacher convince Haas?
Haas is to part company with Mick Schumacher after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The German driver failed to convince his team to extend his contract. A decision which makes sense for Haas's future, but which leads us to wonder why Kevin Magnussen's team-mate has lost his place for next season.
The 2022 season for Haas has been up and down. The American team was able to compete with the midfield when they found performance. However, the lack of development and too many mistakes on track have affected the team’s performance. Haas has made good progress this season, currently sitting in 8th place in the World Constructors’ Championship and achieving their first-ever pole position at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
A dominant teammate.
Mick Schumacher was in his second season in Formula 1 with Haas in 2022. After a difficult 2021 season with a underperforming car, the German driver had to show consistency and performance with his new car in 2022 to convince Haas to extend his contract for 2023. However, that was without counting on the arrival of a new teammate in the form of Kevin Magnussen. The Danish driver quickly established himself as the team leader and outperformed his German teammate.
A lack of experience and too many mistakes.
The 2022 season has been challenging for Mick Schumacher, he only scored points twice and made numerous mistakes. Among these, we can note two high-speed crashes: Jeddah and Monaco. The team’s financial difficulties and the lack of experience from the son of the seven-time world champion played a big role in Haas’ decision to sign Nico Hülkenberg for 2023.
Günther Steiner states: Schumacher has too little experience in Formula 1. He has never been on any other team besides ours. Nico Hülkenberg has already been on three or four teams. He has that experience. It takes time to acquire this experience and we don’t have that time at the moment.
Despite this decision that goes against Mick Schumacher’s progress, the American team believes they have properly supported the German driver and takes responsibility for also making mistakes.
It’s unfair to say that it’s Mick’s fault if we’re not where we would like to be sometimes, as a team, we simply haven’t performed well. We need to do better. But I believe we have done the best we could for Mick and have treated him fairly. That has never been an issue.
