Formula 1 expert Marc Surer analyses Mick Schumacher’s starting position at Haas and explains what makes Kevin Magnussen better at the start of the season
With twelve points from three races, Kevin Magnussen is in the top 10 of the 2022 Formula 1 drivers’ standings, while his Haas team-mate Mick Schumacher is still waiting for his first points result in the “premier class”. This is another reason why Formula 1 expert Marc Surer believes: Schumacher will have to stretch himself this year if he wants to recommend himself for higher tasks.
In a video on the YouTube channel of Formel1.de, Surer says about Schumacher’s performance so far compared to Magnussen: “All three races Mick Schumacher didn’t actually drive around in similar positions. That means he couldn’t exploit the potential of the Haas.”
Therefore, Schumacher has only one thing left to do now, he said. “He now just has to deal with this situation and then slowly work his way up,” Surer says. But that is precisely one of the young German’s strengths: “He is a learner, and that is why I am not worried. In the course of the season he’ll catch up. “
But that is also imperative for Schumacher, Surer continues. “He has to beat Magnussen, maybe not every race. We always know there are other factors involved. But Mick has to be able to beat Magnussen if he wants to sit in the Ferrari at some point. Otherwise he won’t get a seat there. “
Surer: More points are possible for Haas
With the Haas VF-22, the team has built a car with which top-10 positions should also be possible in the coming races, Surer continued. The fact that Haas failed to score points in Melbourne for the first time in 2022 does not necessarily mean that the racing team no longer has a chance from now on.
“I just think the Haas was good in Melbourne too, but Magnussen was sick on Friday, couldn’t set up the car properly and that’s why they just started on the left foot,” Surer says. In the race, Magnussen had finally convinced again, had been “really good on the road” and had had “bad luck” with the strategy. That’s why he dropped back and didn’t make it into the top 10.
“It didn’t have to be that way because the car was good in terms of lap times,” Surer said. “That’s why I think the potential is still there in the car. This time they just didn’t manage to get it out. Or: Magnussen didn’t manage to put it into practice. “
In fact, Schumacher won the direct comparison against Magnussen for the first time in Melbourne, cutting the score in the team-internal duel to 1:2 in both qualifying and the race. In Bahrain and in Saudi Arabia, Magnussen had won the comparison in each case, with Schumacher not having contested the second race of the season.