Mick Schumacher has yet to score a World Championship point in 27 races, which is why Haas team boss Günther Steiner is worried he could become restless
Mick Schumacher is the only regular driver, along with Nicholas Latifi, who has yet to score any points in the World Championship after six of 22 races in the 2022 Formula 1 season. He came close in Miami (collision with Sebastian Vettel) and Barcelona (drop-off in the finish of the race). But after 27 races he is still waiting for the first point of his career.
There’s no public criticism of Schumacher from the Haas team. But Günther Steiner makes no secret of the fact that “we have to score points everywhere and we have to score points with both drivers. There is hard work behind it, but at some point we have to succeed,” says the team boss.
Kevin Magnussen has scored points in three of the six weekends so far and is tenth in the drivers’ championship with 15 points. Steiner thinks it’s possible that the first points result could also untie a knot in Schumacher: “That would give him confidence. But it’s hard to say whether it will have an effect on his pure driving performance. “
Steiner: “At some point it will work out “
“Last week could have been a good week,” says Steiner. “And before that Miami was also a good weekend. But it’s never worked out. Every time it goes well, something happens. We’re almost there. Eventually it will work out because the car is good enough. I’m sure he can do it.”
Steiner doesn’t fear that Schumacher could then become overconfident once he has finished in the points for the first time: “I’m more worried about him becoming desperate and trying too much, overdriving the car. That could happen sooner. But I think he is very close. The most important thing now is to stay patient. “
Barcelona: Wrong strategy costs better result
In Barcelona, Schumacher finished 14th, missing out on tenth place by half a minute (Yuki Tsunoda in the AlphaTauri). Schumacher was still ahead of the Japanese on lap 57 of 66. But with his two-stop strategy and the oldest tyres in the field (old mediums at the end of 35 laps), he was pushed to the back in the last ten laps.
“It became apparent in the first stint that three stops were better. But we didn’t change the strategy,” said Schumacher. “But we can learn from that, we have to understand that. The team had several meetings about it and I think we understand where the problem is. I’m sure we have a better handle on it now. “
“We knew that the hard tyre was not working. The medium was okay, but not as good as two soft sets. The medium had a better reputation than it ended up being. It’s unfortunate, but if you react one or two laps too late, it turns pretty quickly. “
Schumacher doesn’t lose his cool
“It’s a matter of seconds sometimes. When you pass the pit lane, it costs you a lap. Then you argue for another half a lap, and the next lap is gone. Two laps, and in our case that cost us four positions,” he calculates.
Schumacher does not share Steiner’s fear that he could risk too much under pressure and lose the necessary calm: “There are still many races to come. It’s just a matter of making the most of them,” he says coolly, but at the same time makes it clear: “I want to collect points. That’s what I’m here for. I want to be as far ahead as possible in the World Championship.”
“The last two races were very good. I had the feeling that we would have been able to score points. Due to different circumstances, we didn’t manage to do that. It’s not like that puts a lot of pressure on me. I’m just looking forward to driving the car,” said Schumacher ahead of Monaco.
