Schumacher and Mazepin 'understand' there is no need for friendship
Schumacher and Mazepin 'understand' there is no need for friendship
Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has claimed Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin failed to understand last season that "F1 is a team sport" but eventually realised they "don't need to be friends".
Both drivers endured difficult rookie seasons given the lack of competitiveness of the team's VF-21, although German Schumacher was able to draw on the occasional positive with drives in Hungary and Turkish Grand Prix qualifying.
The season, however, was marred by flashpoints between the team-mates, with the animosity notably coming to a head in the Netherlands.
The relationship eventually appeared repaired when Mazepin invited Schumacher for activities in Russia.
Reflecting on his drivers' relationship in an end-of-season interview with GPFans, Steiner said: "I think in the middle of the season they understood they don't need to be friends but they need to be respectful of each other.
"It took quite a while to explain that but I was working with two rookies together, so for me, it was something new and I needed to think how to do that best.
"I always sat with them down together with the chief race engineer because sometimes, I can go off a little bit on a tangent.
"What I found is that they didn't really understand that F1 is a team sport. When you want to get into F1 it's not a team sport. It's a 'me, me' sport.
"Once you're in F1, you need to be a team player. We have no agenda to help one more than the other.
"If there is an advantage to be given, he's getting it. As simple as this. Because they are equal status [for] everything, you always treat them with equal status."
Explaining how attitudes changed, Steiner added: "They are now more respectful of each other. Again, fingers crossed, it can happen any day that they get into each other again.
"But after the summer break, I saw a change in how they approached things. It wasn't 'Oh, why did he get that? Why did he..?' No.
"For sure, they want to beat their teammate. That, they have to do, otherwise, it wouldn't be good for the team if they don't want to be the fastest, but there is a limit to it."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Horner outlines Ricciardo target to save F1 dream as major Newey announcement made - GPFans F1 Recap
- 27 minutes ago
Mercedes reveal shock RED livery to celebrate historic milestone
- 1 hour ago
Ricciardo makes five-race admission in bid to survive F1 axe
- 2 hours ago
Red Bull is 'burning' after Horner and Marko display
- 3 hours ago
Red Bull announce strong statement over Newey departure claims
- Yesterday 19:57
Verstappen 'to meet Mercedes over SHOCK 2025 move as Red Bull exit clause revealed'
- Yesterday 18:57
Related news
Schumacher urges F1 star to make way for Bearman in 2025
F1 team announce SIGNIFICANT change of direction
F1 star mounts pressure on Bearman amid rumours on future
F1 team boss 'gutted' to miss beloved football club in historic FA Cup semi-final
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860