Haas concede Schumacher future "up in the air"

Sam Hall
Wednesday 10 August 2022 15:58

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has conceded the future of Mick Schumacher is "up in the air" with the driver out of contract at the end of the F1 season.

Schumacher is one of a number of drivers for whom the future remains unclear with F1 in its summer shutdown.

After Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement from the sport at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the German was immediately linked as a candidate to replace his countryman.

These rumours quickly ended as Aston Martin confirmed that Fernando Alonso would race alongside Lance Stroll in 2023.

But with seats at Alpine, AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo, Williams and Haas yet to be filled and speaking before Alonso's move was completed, Steiner said of Schumacher's future: “It’s all up in the air, yeah.”

Former F2 champion Schumacher scored the first points of his F1 career by finishing eighth at Silverstone and immediately backed this up with a sixth in Austria.

Asked if ending his drought at the 32nd attempt had changed Schumacher, Steiner added: "Absolutely not. He is happy about it and it gives him a bit of confidence that he can do it.

“You don’t see that. I think he feels it but we don’t see it because he never really lacked confidence on the outside. What you portray and what you have got are two different things.”

Additional reporting by Ian Parkes