Mick Schumacher had a tough 2022 as he got the unfortunate news of being axed from the 2023 grid. As soon as Haas got to know that the German would be ending his relations with the Ferrari driver’s academy, they decided to part ways with him.
He got replaced by his compatriot Nico Hulkenberg. Meanwhile, he has chosen to become the reserve driver for Mercedes. His return to F1 is uncertain as nobody expected him to have such an abrupt pause in his career.
But now, Schumacher can only hope for new vacancies in the starting spot for 2024. By the end of 2022, he had no other place to go. That’s because the decision of his sacking happened too late. All other teams had already sorted their lineups for 2023.
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Haas boss says Mick Schumacher was considered for 2023
Schumacher had a great year as he managed to bring some points in a car which couldn’t compete for points across the season. It also should be considered that many believed this to be his first season as 2021 was a year where Haas was in no way getting above P18-19.
Throwback to Mick Schumacher’s sister Gina congratulating him on his first #F1 points on team radio 🥲pic.twitter.com/iM6RXzW8Ie
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) December 28, 2022
So there were a few reasons to exclude Schumacher from his position. That’s why Haas boss Guenther Steiner reveals it took them a long time to zero down on this decision.
“Mick improved a lot this season, you all saw it, I don’t have to tell you that one. And that’s why it took us so long, you know?” he said when asked whether he considered the 2020 F2 champion to stay for another year.
Need experience at Haas
The only rationale behind Schumacher’s exit given by Steiner is that his team needed experience on the grid. Schumacher was yet to enter his third F1 year and can be considered still raw.
He accepts that the German race driver is a great talent, but he’s not right for his team due to insufficient talent. So, something which couldn’t be fully controlled by the 23-year-old became the reason behind his exit. From the outside, it looks to be an unfair decision.
Nevertheless, with Hulkenberg, Steiner sees promising growth for Haas, as they strive for midfield success. Whether his theory holds water will only be seen once the season starts in March.
Meanwhile, Schumacher’s new relationship with Mercedes is another twist in the storyline. For a long, Ferrari invested in the Schumacher prince. If this decision to let him go by Ferrari bites them in future. It will be a blunder. Hindsight is a cruel thing.
