The 2022 Abu Dhabi will be emotional for F1 fans for a number of reasons. Four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel announced midway into the campaign that he would retire at the end of the year. However, as it turns out, his protegee Mick Schumacher will also leave the sport.
Schumacher has been criticized for his performances throughout the season. He had a rocky start to 2022 with multiple crashes that added to Haas’ bills and team owner Gene Haas was not happy about that. As the season progressed, he kept getting better but it seemed as though he lost the trust of Haas and team principal Guenther Steiner already.
Fans did not want the rumors of Schumacher’s axing to be true. However, ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Haas and Schumacher confirm that they will part ways. The 23-year-old German driver admitted that he isn’t happy with the decision and is disappointed that his contract wasn’t renewed. Nevertheless, he thanked both Haas and Ferrari for helping him kickstart his F1 career and settle into the sport.
Esteban Ocon knows what Mick Schumacher is going through
Schumacher made his F1 debut in 2021 and his first season went quite well. He comprehensively outperformed his teammate Nikita Mazepin and people felt that he was ready to make a big move in the near future. After Mazepin’s sacking and Kevin Magnussen’s arrival in the Kannapolis-based outfit, fortunes changed for Schumacher.
Schumacher did not manage to outperform or beat Magnussen for the majority of the season, and it wasn’t until the British GP did he opened his F1 points tally. Schumacher finished P8 in Silverstone followed by a P6 finish in Spielberg. Other than those two races, Schumacher hasn’t scored any points this year. However, he did improve a lot and Magnussen voiced his support for him.
Unfortunately, he ended up getting axed regardless. This Sunday, Schumacher will compete in his final F1 race for the time-being. Esteban Ocon, who himself lost out on an F1 seat in similar fashion back in 2018 knows what Schumacher is going through. Under the 2020 F2 Champion’s Instagram post, Ocon showed his support in the form of a comment. He assured him that he will make his way back into F1 sooner rather than later.
Nico Hulkenberg replaces Schumacher at Haas
Nico Hulkenberg’s last full F1 season came in 2019 for Renault after which the German was let go of. Ocon replaced Hulkenberg at the Enstone-based outfit and since then he has been a reserve driver for Racing Point/Aston Martin.
Since losing out on his F1 seat, Hulkenberg has competed in four races in F1. His best result came in the form of a P7 when he replaced Sergio Perez at the 2020 70th Anniversary GP because the Mexican driver was out with Covid 19.
Hulkenberg has close to 200 starts in F1 but has never managed to stand on the podium. Steiner, however, believes that the former Williams driver’s experience will help drive the team forward.
