Multiple drivers had to exit Formula 1 at the end of the 2022 season and one of them was Mick Schumacher. He has been replaced by Nico Hulkenberg at Haas. Haas team principal Guenther Steiner and his replacement Hulkenberg have now explained why Mick had to leave
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0:00 - The Brutal Truth Behind Mick Schumacher Exit From Haas
1:26 - Fast Feed
I'm your host Dillon Shelley and first up on Formula World:
The Brutal Truth Behind Mick Schumacher Exit From Haas
Guenther Steiner, while appearing on the Beyond The Grid podcast, explained why they chose Nico Hulkenberg instead of Mick
"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”
He then made some honest admissions about Mick
“Mick can [become] a good driver, or he’s already a good driver, but he can get better. But how long does it take us?”
“Because he’s growing with us, he cannot make us grow. We said, ‘How can we do that?”
He further suggested that Nico fulfills what has been lacking with Mick
“He has it and we need it. Mick unfortunately does not have that”
Hulkenberg, meanwhile, gave his thoughts on this as well to Auto Motor und Sport
“In the end, the teams decide who drives the cars. And they usually put in the people they think are best for the team. So it's not my decision”
“As far as I know, it has all been very fair from the summer onwards. The team gave Mick a lot of time to prove himself”
Fast Feed
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen reiterated that he’s “not going to drive in F1 until [he’s] 40” [Racing News 365]
“So even if the contract runs out in 2028, I don't see myself hanging around for a lot longer than that”
"It's too much. There are too many races”
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon revealed that he and Max Verstappen “get along fine now and have a lot of respect for each other” [NOS]
“I am convinced of [fighting Max for the championship], and I have to [be]”
“If you don't believe in yourself, you are already hopeless in this sport”
Mercedes driver George Russell feels “very fortunate to be in this team, teammates with Lewis, learning a huge amount, being pushed to [his] limits” [F1 Nation]
“It’s not easy being teammates with somebody as fast and great as he is. But it has been a great year in many regards”
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly stated “of course, I'll miss Yuki [Tsunoda]” [Racing News 365]
“I think the relationship we have had as teammates is not something you'll find in many teams, so it was quite precious”
“But it's also part of the sport [and] your career that you move on. For sure, I'll miss him, and I wish him all the best”
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri explained that “the stiffness and some of the other general characteristics of the [current F1] car, it's in some ways a little bit more like an F2 car” [Racing News 365]
Has Haas’s criticism of Mick Schumacher been justified?
