“Not a criticism, just a fact”
Haas team boss explains hard words for Schumacher
By Tobias Nordmann, Felix Görner and Torben Siemer
06/16/2022, 6:00 p.m
Mick Schumacher is still waiting for his first points in Formula 1, and the pressure on the 23-year-old has been increasing for weeks. Haas team boss Günther Steiner is now correcting the harsh words he addressed to his driver. He partially rejects the criticism.
When Formula 1 is in Canada this weekend (all sessions in the live ticker on ntv.de), Haas team boss Günther Steiner has only one wish again: “Points!” Finally points again. Finally something countable again. Finally something in hand that cools down the grueling discussions about the racing team and its highly criticized top talent Mick Schumacher. Steiner himself fueled these debates with critical statements. Before the Grand Prix in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, he had said: “He knows the expectations that exist when you have a teammate who scores points. Then you have to match him. And if you don’t do that, it will be difficult.”
In an exclusive interview with RTL/ntv, Steiner is now rowing back a little. But only by the way. Not of his conviction. “You can always do something better. But we should leave the church in the village. Outside influence doesn’t help anyone.” And it’s huge. Criticism and defensive speeches rain down on Mick and the team from all sides. Not a good location, Steiner thinks. “We have to calm the situation down and not allow ourselves to get nervous.” As an experienced man in the scene, Steiner has acquired a thick skin, but it is not so easy for young drivers to deal with the circumstances.
“Then it just didn’t work out”
Steiner emphasizes that everyone can and should have their own opinion. But he also sees it this way: “I don’t think it’s fair that Mick is now getting advice from all sides about what is right and what is wrong. You have to solve that as a team.” Almost everyone would see that the 23-year-old was in a difficult situation. But it is also not easy for the crew when unrest is brought in again. The Italian doesn’t want to reveal anything about how Steiner and Schumacher have dealt with the situation of the past few weeks. “If he tells me something, it should stay between us and not involve the whole world.”
Steiner is aware that his criticism of the accidents and the strain on the team budget caused a stir. But he would like to clarify something. It’s just “not a criticism, but a fact”. Steiner believes that his driver understood that as well. “He didn’t make the mistakes on purpose. He did his best, but it just didn’t work out,” says the team boss, referring to Schumacher’s serious accidents.
He built the first in qualifying for the second race of the season in Saudi Arabia. His car hit the wall at over 200 kilometers per hour. He fabricated the second crash in Monaco. In both cases, the cars tore in two, causing high costs that are all the more serious given the budget cap on Formula 1. In Jeddah, Schumacher even missed the race – in which Magnussen scored in ninth place, also because the Haas looked much more competitive on the first weekends than at the moment.
Haas update delayed
Steiner’s advice to the young pilot: “Stay calm and focused. Don’t let yourself go crazy.” Incidentally, Schumacher is a good partner at Kevin Magnussen’s side, for whom the team boss has words of praise. “Mick has his very fair team-mate that he can rely on.” The Dane would not be satisfied with the fact that he has clearly dominated the internal duel so far. “Kevin takes great care of Mick. He wants Mick to be successful too.” How things will continue for the 23-year-old in the coming season, i.e. whether he will continue to sit in the Haas cockpit, has not yet been discussed.
However, Ferrari also has a say. The Scuderia supplies Haas with numerous parts for the car via a cooperation agreement and has also secured a say in one of the cockpits. Schumacher was promoted in the junior series as a Ferrari junior and is also available as a substitute driver this season should Charles Leclerc or Carlos Sainz be unwell. A promotion to the red car, in which his father once won five world championship titles, would be like fulfilling a dream. In the current form, however, Formula 1 is closer than the rise to the top team.
What gives Steiner hope that the trend will soon reverse: the announced update to the cars. Criticism of the Haas team has been growing for weeks, the development is taking too long. While all teams are already making progress, in the case of Aston Martin even fundamentally changing large parts of the aerodynamic concept, Haas is waiting. And now even as originally planned. “We wanted to have it for France, but we don’t quite get there, but maybe for Hungary.”
The technicians are convinced “that we are making a nice step.” However, this is also urgently needed, because even Magnussen, who is in better form, has not been in the top ten for four races and scored 12 of his 15 points in the first two races of the season. Until then, it is important to find the right balance again and, in Schumacher’s case, to get the first points. In the inglorious ranking of drivers with the most races without points the German is now in sixth place.
Will the next Ferrari engine burst?
Steiner believes that there is a fine line between risk at the limit and risk above the limit. The driver himself must assess how far he is willing to go. Using the example of the front wing, the Italian makes it clear how stressful this can be for the team. As a racing team, you would calculate before the season, but if the number of parts required doubled so early, then that would be a problem for the suppliers. It would take three weeks to procure a new front wing. “We are already way ahead of the plan for the front wings.” In view of inflation, this means that Haas not only has to absorb the rising costs, but also the additional demand.
In principle, however, Steiner has no problem with mistakes. This is normal for both the team and the driver. Formula 1 is high-performance sport. It is important how you deal with it. The Haas team immediately apologized to Mick after the bitter breakdown in Baku qualifying. He had been sent out too late to be able to do another fast lap, which resulted in 20th on the grid. The last. There was nothing to be gained from there for the 23-year-old, who drove a cautious race.
Kevin Magnussen, on the other hand, was on course for points before his power unit failed. A problem that worries Steiner, but whose hands are tied: “I have to rely on Ferrari to work it off. The power unit is very strong and has good performance, but you have the last ones seen in the race that there are weaknesses in stability.”
Looking at the track in Montreal, which is very similar to Baku with a full throttle share, Steiner says: “Ferrari can’t change anything in the short time available. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen again or we’re lucky.” Four cars did not finish last Sunday’s race: Sainz and Leclerc in the works Ferrari, Magnussen im Haas with a Ferrari engine and Guanyu Zhou, whose Alfa Romeo is also powered by a Ferrari engine.