“We need both drivers to be preforming”- Mick Schumacher earns praise from teammate Kevin Magnussen after recent return to form

Mick Schumacher has enjoyed a return to form in recent races, and Kevin Magnussen praised him for this ‘big step’.

Schumacher had a really tough start to 2022. After an impressive rookie season with Haas, he failed to match Magnussen in terms of performance in the opening rounds this campaign.

Magnussen returned to F1 this year, to find Haas field a much better car. The American outfit were now in within a shot to compete for points in races, and Magnussen lived up to it. Up until the British GP, he was the only Haas driver to score points.

In Silverstone however, Schumacher showed everyone how good he can be. He drove brilliantly to earn a P8 finish, an almost took P7 from reigning World Champion Max Verstappen. He followed it up with another points finish, this time P6 at the Red Bull ring in Austria.

In a recent interview, Magnussen admitted that his teammate’s resurgence has improved the mood in the team, because to finish further up in the Championships, they needed both drivers to perform.

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It was tough when Mick Schumacher wasn’t scoring points, said Magnussen

Haas and Schumacher’s parent team Ferrari did not give up on him even after his early season struggles. The young German driver also cost his team millions of dollars in damages, due to the multiple crashes he suffered.

Magnussen said that Schumacher scoring points was the reason why they were able to jump up to P7 in the standings.

“We need both drivers to be performing,” the Dane said.  “Because it’s tough when you’re the only one scoring points. It’s just better for the team if both are performing and he certainly has taken a big step the last two races, so it’s good.”

However, he does not see Schumacher’s rise as a sign of concern. He insisted that both of them only focus on their performance, to make sure they perform well for the team.

“I kind of focus on myself,” he added. “I’m focused on myself and I think Mick has seemed pretty much the same. We’re now P7 in the championship and that’s what we need.”

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