Mick Schumacher racked up a $2 million repair bill for Haas, the highest across the entire grid last year. Even in 2021, the German race driver got a massive bill for his team. Therefore, Haas boss Guenther Steiner was not happy with him by the season’s end.
Steiner had already planned the exit of the 24-year-old ahead of the 2023 season campaign. Now, it appears that the Japanese Grand Prix was the last straw for the Italian boss.
In Japan, Schumacher crashed his car while going towards the pit. The total repair, as per Steiner, was around $700,000. That moment infuriated the Haas leader, and then he decided to have a driver who would be easy on the repair bill.
The crash that made Mick Schumacher intolerable
In the new book by Steiner ‘Surviving to Drive‘, which will release on April 20, he talked about Schumacher’s crash during the FP1 in Suzuka. For the Haas team principal, the crash was a big blow to the entire team, and he was perplexed how can a driver crash on the in-lap.
“It’s just foking ridiculous. How many people could we employ with $700,000? And I have to now find that money,” said Steiner. Surely, it was a big concern for him, as since the inception of the American team, Steiner had to function within a limited budget.
That’s why for him, Schumacher’s big bills were heavily bothering him. In the end, the 2020 F2 champion was replaced by Nico Hulkenberg at the end of the season.
Dealing with the criticisms
Schumacher’s exit from Haas fetched massive criticism towards his former team and Steiner. The 24-year-old’s uncle Ralf Schumacher spearheaded the hate campaign by writing blogs for Sky Germany on the mistreatment by Haas towards his nephew.
Recently, even Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, for whom Schumacher is now a reserve driver, spoke against Steiner. Wolff even claimed had Michael Schumacher not been in his present condition and been around, Steiner wouldn’t have dared to sack Mick.
📰:Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says Haas boss Guenther Steiner would have treated Mick Schumacher differently if Michael Schumacher had been present. Wolff confirms Schumacher would be first choice to drive for Mercedes if either of the team’s full-time drivers were unable to race.… pic.twitter.com/otei5lUmjC
— F1 Naija 🇳🇬 (@f1_naija) April 4, 2023
Alas, Steiner has defended his stance by remaining firm in his decision. The overall consensus in their management is to have a driver with relatively more experience to optimize their weekends, and if that’s what they want, then fair enough.
