Hill reveals thinking behind Schumacher Haas exit

Sam Hall
Monday 28 November 2022 11:52

Former F1 champion Damon Hill believes Mick Schumacher's inability to handle the pressure of the sport was behind Haas' decision to release the driver.

Schumacher is without a seat on the grid for next season after Haas selected Nico Hulkenberg to partner Kevin Magnussen instead of his younger countryman.

Although Schumacher's performances were worthy of merit, these were punctuated by a number of expensive crashes.

With the weight of his seven-time champion father's name, Schumacher was always going to be under more pressure than other drivers of his age.

Reflecting on the F1 Nation podcast that this had shown on the track, Hill said: "Mick was under a lot of scrutiny, a lot of pressure and I think that it got to him in the end.

"I don't know where he gets his advice from but I think he probably found Formula 1 was harder than he thought, and there were other aspects to it that you only get from years in the sport which Nico Hulkenberg has had, and therefore, he can concentrate on delivering for the team.

"The team ultimately needs people who can just do the job without putting them under stress."

Hulkenberg has races "in the bank"

Hulkenberg will return to the paddock in a full-time capacity for the first time since 2019 when he parted company with Renault.

After Fernando Alonso conceded it had taken him half a season to return to full strength after a period on the sidelines, Hill also stated the difficult task that lies ahead of the 35-year-old.

"He's made a few comebacks which have been pretty impressive considering the amount of time that he's been out of the car and he has got quite a few races in his bank," he added.

"Once you've had a break, it's hard to get fully up to speed. But he's not under pressure in the same way that Mick was."