“I was really scared”- Mick Schumacher was left startled after his first worrying pitlane incident by leaving the pitlane with jack still on.
Mick Schumacher had intensive pre-season testing as he drove for around 181 laps over the three days to gain a valuable experience before his first Grand Prix race.
Towards the end of the Saturday session, Schumacher came into the pit to have a tyre change, but an unforeseen incident scared him, where he took the jack with him while leaving the pit.
“I was really scared because suddenly I didn’t know what was going on, whether I did something wrong or not,” said Schumacher, quoted by Motorsport-Total.com. “In the end, it was a misunderstanding.”
The cause of the incident was a jammed nut on the front left tyre, the mechanic at that position wasn’t sure whether the tyre would come off or not, and he raised his hand while Schumacher was given the green light.
No blame to the driver
Haas team principal no way diverted blame to Schumacher after the incident; instead praised him for his strong presence of mind during the crises situation.
“Mick reacted very well,” said Steiner. “When the radio message came that he should stop, he stopped immediately. This did not cause any damage. I could say now it was part of his training because we have already hit so many pit stops! But it wasn’t like that.”
Mick Schumacher apologizes
Schumacher is heavily apologetic for the situation but now is confident about the future races in 2021, where Schumacher aims to reduce the gap.
“A bit sad that it was the last day and the last time driving before the Grand Prix, but nevertheless, we have 23 races coming up, which is obviously great,” said Schumacher.
“We managed to get a lot of laps in, which was good. We had no more issues, which is a bonus, and we’ve managed to catch up for the losses on day one.
“I’m very impatient and very much looking forward to the season. It can’t come soon enough. I feel very prepared, very ready. Hopefully, we can understand every test we’ve done and be able to convert that into performance.”
