The F1 career of Mick Schumacher, the son of the seven-time champion, hangs in the balance. The 23-year-old German, who debuted two seasons ago in the great circus in Abu Dhabi, will say goodbye on the same stage at the Yas Marina this Sunday. He will say goodbye to his team, the American Haas, who has not renewed him, and most likely, to F1, since he has no team. No perspective.
What was a rumor in the F1 paddock has taken shape this Thursday with the confirmation by Haas that it is not renewing Mick Schumacher for 2023 and hands over his steering wheel to Nico Hülkenberg: a promising 23-year-old champion of the F2, by a 35-year-old veteran who was in the unemployment office waiting for occasional little workers. The German veteran had been without a permanent team since he ended his contract with Renault in 2019.
In the last three years, he has performed the functions of a reserve driver and a wild card to replace last-minute casualties: he contested two races with Racing Point (the previous Aston Martin) in 2020, and this year, two more races with the green car in Bahrain and Arabia. Saudi replacing Lance Stroll. Hülkenberg, who made his debut in 2010, has a background of 181 grand prix, albeit not very brilliant, with 1 pole position and 2 best laps, without any podiums.
The main reason for the non-renewal of Haas to Schumacher has been his poor performance in the form of points and destruction. In these two years in F1, far from consolidating and growing, the Kaiser's son has not exactly stood out.
In his 42 GP contested, five retirements -not too many, for a rookie-, but only two races in the points (Austria and Silverstone, this year), with a 6th place as the best result in the race and in qualifying.
On the contrary, his team has had to pay numerous bills for repairs to his crashed car. And, the comparisons with his (accidental) partner Kevin Magnussen harm him: the Dane, who arrived at the last minute in Bahrain to replace the Russian Nikita Mazepin (terminated due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine), has achieved better results: 25 of the 37 points of the team, for only 12 the German.
Mick Schumacher, who will say goodbye this Sunday at the Abu Dhabi GP, issued a statement on a black background on his social networks expressing his disappointment and discomfort.
"This is going to be my last race with the Haas F1 Team. I do not want to hide the fact that I am very disappointed by the decision not to renew my contract. However, I would like to thank both Haas and Ferrari for giving me this chance".
In his message, Mick admits that he hasn't been as regular as he would have needed, but claims a seat in F1. "These years together have helped me mature both technically and personally. And, above all, when things get difficult, I have realized how much I love this sport. I was irregular at times, but I continually improved. I learned a lot and now I know "For sure, I deserve a place in Formula 1. The matter is by no means closed for me. Setbacks only make you stronger. My fire burns for Formula 1 and I will fight hard to get back on the starting grid."
