A lot of controversy surrounds Mick Schumacher’s time with Haas. A rookie at the time, he was given only two years to prove himself in a backmarker team. Further with the weight of his name and the pressures from Guenther Steiner, his treatment at Haas has been brought into question. Now, finding refuge at Mercedes while he recalibrates his career, toot Wolff has been the most outspoken against the American outfit.
Wolff had recently called out Steiner’s behavior towards Schumacher, stating that if Michael Schumacher was around, he would have behaved differently. Wolff was thus, the first to draw blood, “if Michael had accompanied his son during the two Haas years, Steiner would not have dared to treat Mick like that!”
Already having undergone much public scrutiny for the same reason, this was salt in Steiner’s wounds. Having explained his decision multiple times, Steiner even has a special part for this whole conundrum in his book. However, it looks like won’t be outrunning these allegations any time soon and has clearly had enough.
Haas v Mercedes battle erupts over Mick Schumacher
Steiner has recently retorted to Wolff’s statements with a sly twist of words. “What I have to say is, if my father would have been around Toto wouldn’t have said the things he said.”
Protecting his team from the harsh comments from Wolff and others, Steiner gave his side of the story. “I think they tried to put pressure on to keep Mick and blame all the team and I don’t think that was good for Mick.”
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Further, Steiner claims that the constant public commentary only created a rift between Mick and the team. “In the end, they didn’t actively try to divide us but that’s what they did. I think he didn’t feel good when he heard the things talked about me and I didn’t feel good coming from their side. In the end, they tried to divide us.”
💬 "I’ve been settling in great. Everybody in the Team has made me feel welcome from the first moment I stepped into the factory." 🤝@SchumacherMick's Diary, entry one, has arrived! 📝 He'll be sharing insights from his Reserve Driver duties throughout the season.
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 14, 2023
Instead, the captain of the Haas ship was left frustrated at the heat his team had to face because of this situation. Heroically, he takes the blame on himself. “There is no point to upset a team about a driver because you want to say ‘Guenther didn’t take care enough of Mick and how I do things.”
Putting the past in the past, Mick Schumacher is enjoying his time at Mercedes. Learning under the expertise of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell while contributing to the team’s resurgence, maybe one day the could be his.
