Mick Schumacher

Schumacher opens up on 'INFERIOR' Haas in brutal assessment of F1 struggles

Mick Schumacher has revealed just how inferior the Haas car was to its rivals

Jay Winter

Wednesday 13 September 2023 13:57

Mercedes reserve driver Mick Schumacher has shed light on his debut Formula 1 season with Haas in the 2021 season, opening up on challenges he faced due to the team having an 'inferior' car on the grid.

Schumacher, who is carrying on the legacy of his legendary father Michael Schumacher, shared his thoughts on the struggles he encountered while driving for Haas.

Speaking to Sky Germany, he acknowledged a few notable moments of success, saying, "Well, we did have a couple of moments of success with a Q2, which wasn't really conceivable considering the circumstances, but we managed to pull it off.

"That was of course nice. The first was in Turkey, the second was at Paul Ricard."

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However, Schumacher didn't mince words when describing the challenges posed by the Haas car in the 2021 season. He emphasised just how inferior the car was, especially when it came to the configuring of set-up options for different weekends.

"When you're driving a car that's simply so inferior...I mean, our highest downforce setup in Monaco had even less downforce than Ferrari's Monza setup at the time.

"So you can imagine, it had nothing to do with it."

Mick Schumacher driving his father's W02 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

Reflecting on the stark contrast between the Haas car and the higher-performing machines on the grid, Schumacher highlighted the significant differences.

Schumacher: We had to fight at Haas

He had the opportunity to test the 2021 Mercedes, the vehicle that won Mercedes the constructors' championship that year.

"Even if I now look at the cars, like the 2021 Mercedes that I drove in Goodwood, which I had the chance to test at Silverstone before, it's completely different.

"It makes sense why Lewis [Hamilton] and Valtteri [Bottas] could drive it so easily and set such fast times, while we really had to fight."

Schumacher dominated his former team-mate Nikita Mazepin at Haas

Despite the challenges and struggles faced in his debut season with Haas, Schumacher found value in the experience.

He believes it's important to have a profound understanding of the performance differences between cars, and his determination to succeed shone through, even in the face of adversity.

"But I personally find it good to have that feeling, to know that I also achieved something with the car I had available back then," he concluded.

Unfortunately for Schumacher, his options for a 2024 F1 seat are fading, however Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff will no doubt be working hard to get the German back on the grid in the future.