What Haas driver Mick Schumacher expects from Formula 1 qualifying in Zandvoort and how he responds to questions about his future after 2022
Placing 13th in Friday practice for the 2022 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort has Mick Schumacher optimistic about the rest of the race weekend. There is “hopefully Q3” in it for his Haas team, said Schumacher. “That would be our goal. “
More than that: Schumacher is even flirting with a personal best. Or as he puts it himself: “If we could be in the same position in Q3 as our best starting position, which is P6 so far, if we could improve on that, that would of course be a dream.”
But qualifying will probably not be a walk in the park for Haas. Schumacher doesn’t expect a walk-through in the Haas VF-22, but “we should just be able to slip into Q3 if we look at it realistically.” And even then Haas will probably have to hope for mistakes from other drivers, needing “a clean session” himself, says Schumacher. “Then it should actually fit. “
Schumacher mistake right at the start of practice
It wasn’t quite right at the start of Friday’s practice for Schumacher: he was one of the first drivers off the track, in the chicane at turn 10. And Schumacher was audibly surprised by the slip, as he immediately radioed, “What the hell?”
When asked, he says he “didn’t quite understand” the situation. Because: “The car simply didn’t decelerate. And then the tyre stopped immediately, in an outlap. “
“In the end, the explanation was that the tyre was extremely cold. The hard tyre seems to be quite difficult to get going here. So we’ll have to see what the strategy is like. “
Why Schumacher is hoping for an improvement
But either way, he expects an improvement at Haas. Because “on Fridays it always looks a bit more difficult,” Schumacher says.
“So we should be in a better position for Saturday. It will definitely be interesting to see where we can place ourselves. And then we’ll see if we can start in a good position to maintain that in the race, or if we have to fight our way through. “
With a time of 1:13.604 minutes in the second free practice session, Schumacher was well in control of his Haas team-mate Kevin Magnussen at Zandvoort, with a gap of 1.259 seconds. Schumacher took almost seven tenths off Magnussen, the second Haas was only classified in second-last place.
Schumacher dodges questions about 2023
But will Schumacher be in the cockpit at Haas beyond 2022? Asked about the now vacant seat at Alpine, the German only answered evasively: “I’m definitely looking forward to Saturday. Qualifying is on the agenda. There will definitely be a position there where hopefully we can hold our own in Q3 and then start the race strong.”
When asked if he had already obtained the number of Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer from Esteban Ocon, Schumacher also did not give a concrete answer. He simply said: “As I said, Zandvoort is a mega track and I’m looking forward to it. “
