“He didn’t let us grow,” Guenther Steiner gives damning verdict on parting ways with Mick Schumacher at the end of 2022 F1 season
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Guenther and Mick
Guenther Steiner, the Haas Team Principal, has recently revealed the reasons why the team decided to part ways with Mick Schumacher at the end of the 2022 F1 season.
Guenther Steiner feels that while Mick Schumacher is a talented driver, Haas needed more experience in terms of Nico Hulkenberg going into next year’s campaign.
The Italian-American while discussing Haas and Mick during the “Beyond the grid” podcast added, “Mick can become a good driver; he already is, but he can get better. How long would that take for us? Because he is driving with us, he couldn’t let us grow.”
Steiner has made it known that, in his opinion, Schumacher is a really good driver, but his development prospects just do not sit well with the aspirations of the team in the coming years of the sport.
This is one of the main reasons why the Kannapolis-based Haas F1 Team decided to bet on experience rather than continuing with the Schumacher.
Guenther Steiner feels Nico Hulkenberg will take Haas forward
With the arrival of Nico Hulkenberg on the Haas F1 team, they have got an experienced driver lineup going into the 2023 F1 season.
Kevin Magnussen was easily able to outperform Mick Schumacher during the 2022 F1 season, and Haas believes, with an experienced driver lineup they would be able to perform better compared to this year.
Steiner while dwelling on Hulkenberg added, “He drove two races at the beginning of the season and that went very well for him.“
“We evaluated it and thought about what would be the best thing to do. We made the choice of an experienced driver to grow faster.”
Moreover, Steiner feels that Mick can match Nico in terms of pace, but does not have the experience of running in the midfield as the latter does.
“He has it and we need it. Mick unfortunately does not have that.”
Guenther Steiner has backed Nico Hulkenberg to take the team forward in the coming years, but he will make his full F1 return next year after a hiatus of three years.
How do you see Nico Hulkenberg performing in his comeback season in the sport?
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Rishabh Negi
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