After exchanging verbal insults with Ralf Schumacher for several months, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner finally admitted that his relationship with the family is nonexistent. Ever since Mick Schumacher was sacked by Steiner, his uncle Ralf has publicly called the Italian out on multiple occasions.
Ralf, who is a former F1 driver himself, feels that Steiner was unfair to his nephew. He pointed out instances where the Haas boss put unnecessary pressure on Mick, who according to him, was trying to find his feet in Formula 1. Ralf went as far as suggesting that if his brother, the legendary Michael Schumacher was still around, Steiner would not treat Mick the way he did.
After Steiner said that “the relationship does not exist” with the Schumachers, Ralf mocked Steiner on his Instagram post.
“The Schumacher name must trigger an unbelievable passion in Mr. Steiner,” he wrote. After expressing his disappointment in Steiner’s comments, the German driver lamented at the fact that their relationship is indeed beyond repair. He stated that he hoped for them to resolve their issues heading into the new year.
What happened between Ralf Schumacher and Guenther Steiner?
Schumacher was not pleased with the way Steiner treated his nephew and he didn’t hold back while slamming Steiner publicly. Mick Schumacher suffered plenty of crashes in 2022, which added to Haas’ damage bills. For a team that was financially struggling, having an inexperienced driver making unavoidable mistakes was not ideal.
As a result, Steiner often lost his cool with the 2020 F2 champion. In Netflix’s Drive to Survive, we heard the 58-year-old openly criticize him. This too was not taken well by Ralf Schumacher, and he openly spoke against him. He went as far as saying that Steiner was the reason behind Haas’ struggles to get results in F1.
Steiner too, got fed up with Schumacher’s constant attacks, and consequently admitted that he wants nothing to do with them. Steiner and Haas ended up replacing Schumacher with the experienced Nico Hulkenberg.
What’s next for Mick Schumacher?
After failing to find a seat for himself for the 2023 campaign, Schumacher was offered a reserve role by Mercedes which he took up. He is spending the 2023 season on the sidelines as the reserve driver for the Silver Arrows.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff insisted that in case Lewis Hamilton or George Russell fail to take part in a race, it will be Schumacher who replaces either of them. For now, he is fulfilling his reserve duties and waiting for a shot to take a Mercedes F1 car out for a spin during a test.
