How Haas avoided "cheap" Schumacher insult

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has revealed why he refused to put in a "cheap" offer to Mick Schumacher.

The American-owned F1 team parted company with the 23-year-old following the conclusion of the 2022 season, with Nico Hülkenberg hired as his replacement.

Schumacher later accepted an offer to become the reserve driver for Mercedes.

Asked in an end-of-season interview with GPFans if Haas had offered Schumacher the opportunity to continue in a reserve capacity, Steiner said: "I didn't ask him, to be honest.

“It's always difficult for somebody, if you have driven for a team, to then be relegated to reserve driver. I don't think he would be happy with that.

“He didn't approach me about that, and I didn't want to [approach him about it].

"It’s a bit cheap to ask him, 'We won't let you drive the car, but would you like to be the reserve driver'."

Schumacher enjoyed a better season in 2022, scoring points on two occasions after failing to register in his rookie campaign.

Speaking after joining Mercedes, Schumacher said: "I take this as a new start, and I am just excited and grateful to Toto [Wolff] and everybody involved for putting their trust in me."

Additional reporting by Sam Hall