“Nothing would have changed,” Guenther Steiner says Haas’ decision wouldn’t have been affected even if Mick Schumacher took pole position in Brazil


“Nothing would have changed,” Guenther Steiner says Haas’ decision wouldn’t have been affected even if Mick Schumacher took pole position in Brazil

Guenther Steiner and Mick Schumacher in Zandvoort (IMAGO / Laci Perenyi)

There was a stark contrast in Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher’s Sao Paulo GP weekends, especially in qualifying, where Magnussen took pole position, but his teammate was P20. This was believed to be the final nail in the coffin for him by many. Gene Haas, the team owner, had publicly stated that Schumacher needed points to secure his seat, but none came by.

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Haas’ team principal, Guenther Steiner also revealed that the decision had been made recently, and the young German was only informed of it on Wednesday. His compatriot, Nico Hulkenberg, signed a contract the same day. Steiner also made it clear that the situation wouldn’t be different if it was Mick Schumacher who had taken pole position (or another superb result).

Speaking to Motorsport.com, Steiner said: “Nothing would have changed. Because you cannot make this decision on an emotional one race or one qualifying result, that would be wrong, it could be wrong both ways.” While he acknowledged that Schumacher’s numerous crashes played a part, they weren’t everything: “It’s part of it, but you cannot just say, ‘oh he crashed’, which obviously wasn’t good.”

Steiner further explained that while the 23-year-old had fantastic results, namely in Austria and Silverstone, he also had very bad moments i.e the numerous crashes – Jeddah, Miami (not race ending), Monaco and most recently in Japan practice. He insisted that it was not ‘one event that triggered this’, but rather, a combination of things.

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Also Read: It’s official: Nico Hulkenberg returns to Formula 1 holding hands with the Haas F1 team

Guenther Steiner: Mick Schumacher improved a lot during the season

Mick Schumacher (IMAGO / Motorsport Images)
Mick Schumacher (IMAGO / Motorsport Images)

While his teammate, the returning Kevin Magnussen, impressed right out of the gate, for Mick Schumacher, it took some time. Haas’ and his best form of the season struck in Silverstone and Austria, where they scored two double points finishes in two consecutive races. Guenther Steiner admits that Schumacher improved as the season progressed – which is why it took Haas so long to make this decision.

The Haas team principal said: “Mick improved a lot during the season. You all see it, I don’t have to tell you that one. Therefore it took us so long, we didn’t take this decision as people think already before the summer, it took us this long to decide what is the best for the team. He drove good in some races.”

To him, what Schumacher was missing was the experience of ‘multi-years’ in F1, and the experience of having been with another team – both of which his replacement, Nico Hulkenberg has in abundance. He explained that the decision to replace Schumacher with Hulkenberg is because, with the latter’s experience, the team have a ‘shorter way’ to ‘come up again’.

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Also Read: “Everybody can do and say what they want” – Gunther Steiner states having no issues with Mick Schumacher in light of the German leaving Haas F1 team

Also Read: “We value Mick very much”: Toto Wolff gives out the biggest hint on Mercedes taking up Mick Schumacher as a reserve driver