Mick Schumacher starts his second Formula 1 season. However, his Haas team had to deal with problems in the preparation, including parting ways with the Russian main sponsor. Nevertheless, the 22-year-old hopes to finally be able to keep up.
In his second year in Formula 1, Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, has only one goal: to finally keep up and finish in the points. The first year of apprenticeship in the premier class is over, little Schumi just drove behind in the slowest car in the field, but now the expectations of the soon to be 23-year-old are increasing.
Schumacher himself announced full-bodied that he wanted to become world champion at some point. “That remains my goal, otherwise I would be wrong here,” he told the sports information service before the start of the new season in Melbourne. “I want to be the best driver there is.”
Quiet hope for Mick Schumacher
Schumacher will hardly be able to do that in 2022, but there is a faint hope that the name will shine again. In an article at the end of the test drives in Bahrain, the trade magazine “Auto Motor Sport” asked murmuringly: “Is Schumis Haas an insider tip?” The reason for this was the fact that Schumacher turned the fastest lap in the Haas after world champion Max Verstappen during the last time measurement. And in the middle section of the track he was even faster.
That stimulates the imagination of many Schumacher fans and the media, even if such test drives are only conditionally meaningful. It is played and tricked until the end. It’s part of the business. Nevertheless, there is legitimate hope that Schumacher might make it into the top ten and get the first championship point of his life.
It would be a well-deserved reward given the chaos Schumacher’s Haas team experienced in preparation. It is also possible because Formula 1 has subjected its technical rules to a radical overhaul, which should bring advantages to smaller teams like Haas and make the Grand Prix more exciting. After the test drives, Haas is considered a surprise package. Schumacher confirmed the impressions. Ferrari’s new engine is “a good step forward, it feels good.”
His new teammate is a real competitor
Before the season, the US team was under pressure from its Russian sponsor Uralkali and Russian pilot Nikita Masepin. Masepin is also the son of the oligarch close to Putin, Dmitry Masepin, who also owns Uralkali. After the Russian attack on Ukraine, Haas parted ways with both the driver and the main sponsor – a risky proposition given the sponsor’s generous financial dowry. Cargo problems later arose and testing was delayed. Lawsuits from the Russian company are to be expected in the future, which will cause further unrest.
And the departure of Masepin could be another challenge for Schumacher. He had the young Russian pilot under control, but with his successor, the experienced Dane Kevin Magnussen, Schumacher has serious competition in his own team. Your teammate is always the first to hit. “I feel good and know what I can do,” assured Schumacher. “That’s why it doesn’t intimidate me.”
Schumacher wants to learn from Magnussen – the 29-year-old in turn proves to be a fair stable rival. “It’s important to understand that you can benefit from each other but at the same time fight for the same points,” said Magnussen.
Empathy is nice, but Formula 1 is still a cut-throat competition. “Kevin is a tough racer, but that’s good for Mick,” said team manager Günther Steiner. “It will help him in his development.”
Sources: DPA,,
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
