Mick Schumacher, in his two seasons in F1, did some impressive performances with Haas. But at the same time, in both seasons, he racked up the biggest repair bills among all the drivers on the grid.
In 2021 alone, according to Business F1, he cost Haas around $5 million. That’s $1.5 more than what initially surfaced on the internet. For a team with a humble budget, it’s a crucial number and could change the game.
Therefore, it could have played a vital role in Guenther Steiner not going ahead with him and rather bringing in an experienced driver for the 2023 season.
Mick Schumacher couldn’t believe his mess
The German race driver was battered publicly for his crashes that were affecting Haas majorly amidst the cost cap era. His crash in Monaco alone cost the American team $1 million in repairs. But apparently, he couldn’t digest the fact that he forced his team to spend so much.
As per Business F1, Steiner revealed Schumacher once asked him whether he really cost the team so much over his mistakes. The Italian team principal replied, “I don’t know because I haven’t said it. It’s an estimation, but it’s this amount of money.”
However, Leclerc wasn’t alone on the list. Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen are also close to him on the list, but their mistakes were never weaponized against them.
He can return
One of the other big reasons for his Haas axe was his disassociation from Ferrari’s driver academy. After that, Haas had no obligation from the Italian team to keep him, and since Ferrari was not promoting any other driver, Haas had the autonomy to choose Schumacher’s replacement.
With nowhere else to go, Mercedes hired Schumacher as the reserve driver for their upcoming season. Thus, he has officially shifted his camp to Ferrari’s rivals.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, famous for getting seats to the drivers from his programme— Esteban Ocon and George Russell- is sure that Schumacher can fetch a permanent full-time role in F1.
It remains to be seen what opportunities he might get with the Silver Arrows. His marketing ceiling as one of the Schumacher could land him some interested parties.
Also read: Max Verstappen With $200 Million Net Worth Denied $250,000 to His Teammates by Quitting Competition
