The news of Haas not renewing Mick Schumacher’s contract has been going around the paddock for quite some time. But now it has been confirmed that the upcoming Abu Dhabi GP would be the last race of Schumacher with Haas.
After spending two years with the young German, Haas has now decided to replace Schumacher with Nico Hulkenberg.
— Mick Schumacher (@SchumacherMick) November 17, 2022
With over 180 race starts in F1 and having been a part of multiple teams, Hulkenberg brings to the table a lot of experience. He first started his career with Williams in 2010.
And this experience became one fundamental reason why Haas team principal Guenther Steiner chose Hulkenberg as a replacement.
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The reason why Haas axed Mick Schumacher
Schumacher has been with the team since the 2021 season but his performance has not been consistently good enough.
He scored his first point at the 2022 British GP and then at the Red Bull Ring but that only comprised a total of 12 points in comparison to 25 points from his teammate Kevin Magnussen.
On top of that, the 23-year-old has been prone to crashes and causing expensive damages to the team.
While these are some of the reasons, it is not the only factor that influenced Haas’ decision.
Team boss Steiner explained that experience is what Schumacher is missing and it takes time to build up experience. “We don’t have time, because we want to move forward,’ he further added.
Therefore, the team has decided to move forward with Hulkenberg.
Mick Schumacher needs to find balance in his performance
Schumacher has been massively criticised by his own team whenever he has not been able to match his teammate’s performance.
Recently, Haas F1 team owner, Gene Haas said that Schumacher is unaffordable because costs a fortune to the team.
The young German driver delivered some impressive performance but it could not outweigh his crashes and damage to the team.
Steiner explains that it’s the balance between good and bad performance that a driver needs to find.
“So it’s a mix of it, but it was not one event, but it’s a combination of things,” he further added.
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