F1 | Gene Haas: "We need Mick to bring some points and we’re trying to give him as much time as possible to see what he can do."
Haas F1 Team owner, Gene Haas, told the media that Mick Schumacher must score points over the final four races of the season if he hopes to remain in the team for a third season in 2023.
At present, Haas F1 Team are P8 in the F1 Constructors’ Championships on an equal 34 points with AlphaTauri. Therefore, it is little surprise to hear that this past Sunday, at the NASCAR race in Las Vegas, team owner Gene Haas told the media that Mick Schumacher must score points over the final four races of the season if he hopes to remain in the team for a third season in 2023.
Mick Schumacher is a man used to racing under pressure due to being the son of seven-time F1 Drivers’ Champion Michael Schumacher. So far this season, Mick Schumacher has scored 12 points compared to returning racer (and Schumacher’s teammate) Kevin Magnussen’s haul of 22 points. Even though Mick Schumacher has competed in one less race than his teammate in 2022 (having missed the second race of the season in qualifying at Saudi Arabia) it is clear that Haas expect more from their driver.
The next race on the calendar is Haas F1 Team’s home race at the Circuit of the Americas. As such, one can expect more of a spotlight than usual on the team during the race weekend. Gene Haas told The Associated Press, this past Sunday in Las Vegas that:
“We’re just waiting. We need Mick to bring some points and we’re trying to give him as much time as possible to see what he can do. 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.” Gene Haas said in reply to whether Mick Schumacher would be with the team in 2023.
“We started off the year with resounding success, and I think the middle season wasn’t too good, and we just seem to fall back into our usual way of running,” Gene Haas told the AP. “We’ve just got to get out of that. And Formula One is so tough. When I started, there was 6 seconds between the leaders and the backend and you had a 107% rule. Now we’re all within 2 seconds, so it’s gotten a lot tougher and there are no bad teams anymore.
“In this sport, being kind of a rookie driver, the sport just doesn’t allow it – it’s just too expensive,” Haas said. “If you make any mistakes in driver selection, or strategy, or tire selection, it is costing you millions of dollars.
At just 23-years-old, Mick Schumacher still has a long F1 career ahead of him – provided he can stay in the sport. His season has featured some expensive crashes for his team and so it is crucial that his performances contribute to keeping Haas F1 Team ahead of AlphaTauri – due to the millions of dollars in prize money on offer.
“I think Mick has got a lot of potential, but you know he costs a fortune and he’s wrecked a lot of cars that have cost us a lot of money that we just don’t have. Now, if you bring us some points, and you are [Max] Verstappen and you wreck cars, we’ll deal with it. But when you are in the back and you wreck cars, that’s very difficult.” Haas stated.
Hard words indeed from the team owner and hardly likely to fill Mick Schumacher with a morale boost and so it was put to Gene Haas as to whether Schumacher can still show he has a place in the team beyond 2022 and prove himself? “Well, if he wins the next one, he’s in. Somewhere in between there is a gray area.” Surely a remark said in jest as no one can see Haas F1 Team winning a Grand Prix in a normal situation. Also, with Antonio Giovinazzi, Nico Hulkenberg and even Daniel Ricciardo being mentioned in conversation for the Haas Seat, these remarks show to the clearest extent yet just how under pressure Mick Schumacher is.
Fortunately, an F1 Grand Prix weekend comes thick and fast and a performance of merit in Austin of all places would surely do Mick Schumacher’s chances of retaining his seat no harm. As Gene Haas said - “Mick’s future is going to be decided by Mick.”
