Thursday, December 9th, 2021
“Hoping for better results”
Sobering Formula 1 year for the Germans
A spectacular Formula 1 season ends this weekend in Abu Dhabi. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, the title opponents, have been fighting each other on the verge of legality for weeks. The German pilots Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher only have the role of spectator.
Mick Schumacher drove many lonely races in his first Formula 1 season. He usually had his team-mate Nikita Mazepin under control, the other 18 drivers were in more powerful cars. That should be over soon. “I hope that we will battle with the others next year,” said Schumacher before the final in Abu Dhabi on Sunday (2 p.m. / Sky and in the ntv.de live ticker). The 22-year-old has zero points after 21 races. As expected, one has to say. Sebastian Vettel has 43 points on the credit side, a second place in Baku stands out. The happier of the two German drivers at the end of the year is Schumacher.
“On the whole, it went well,” he said: “I’m quite satisfied. I didn’t go in with great expectations.” Schumacher should and was allowed to learn. The current car has not been further developed, all resources have been pooled in order to close the gap to midfield around 2022 under fundamentally changed regulations. In qualifying, Schumacher was able to do this more and more often in 2021, which also “surprised” Haas team boss Günther Steiner. “He got the maximum out of it,” praised the South Tyrolean.
New Year New luck
In the next year it will count for Schumacher. The aerodynamics of the racing cars will change drastically, the tires will “grow” from 13 to 18 inches, and the budget cap for all teams will continue to decrease. This is the chance for the little ones to attack – after all, the industry giants Mercedes and Red Bull also had to start their conception on a blank sheet of paper.
One of the smaller ones at the moment inevitably has to be Aston Martin, even if Vettel had imagined it differently. “The team is great. But we were all hoping for better results,” said the four-time world champion with Red Bull (2010 to 2013) before the final act: “We were set back by the rule changes at the beginning of the season.” In 14 of the previous 21 races of the season, Vettel remained without points. That doesn’t fit with his aspirations.
The Heppenheimer was all the more positive about his compatriot and friend, who was twelve years his junior: “Mick did an incredible job. He often kept up with cars that were significantly faster.” He wishes him “very much that next year he will get a significantly better car to show what he can do.” Vettel will hope for the same for himself personally.