Schumacher reveals excuses behind Latifi crash in frustrating final Haas fling

Mick Schumacher was left frustrated by his final F1 outing with Haas after a collision with Nicholas Latifi at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix following which he claimed he did not see the Canadian driver.

The German faces at least a year on the sidelines after being replaced with fellow countryman Nico Hulkenberg for next year.

But his farewell drive was far from the one he had hoped for, with a lack of pace hindering his progress before contact with Williams driver Nicholas Latifi sent both into a spin, earning him a five-second penalty.

Asked to talk through the incident, Schumacher said: “You don’t really have a big overview of what is happening in your surroundings in the car. The tyres are so high, the steering wheel is in your face.

“He out-braked himself a bit, went wide and came back onto the track and I didn’t expect that and simply didn’t see him. Frustrating.

“In the end, I still managed to get some good laps in but by the end, the tyres were just gone.

“A frustrating one. Not the best but we will look ahead now.”

Schumacher eventually crossed the line one lap down and in 16th position, one place ahead of team-mate Kevin Magnussen.

Asked if he accepted the decision to hand him a penalty, he added: “To be honest, I don’t really care.”