As already stated by the team, the decision for Schumacher will be announced before the end of the Formula 1 season in Abu Dhabi, the Haas team appears to have made their decision already and it doesn’t look good for the young German and son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher. With a reported five day count down to come, the replacement for Mick will be driving in the Abu Dhabi test after the season finishes.

“I hope we can tick off the issue and make our decision in the next week,” Steiner said on the sidelines of the Formula 1 presentation event in Las Vegas this weekend.

This means that it could be announced before the start of the Brazilian Grand Prix next weekend whether Mick Schumacher will also drive for Haas in F1 for 2023.

Steiner also reiterated that Haas wants to have clarity on the driver issue by the season finale in Abu Dhabi at the latest saying that “after the race is a test and there you want to have the driver in the car who will also be racing next year,”.

Theres’ nothing more Mick can do now

Mick’s performances in Brazil and possibly also in Abu Dhabi will no longer influence the team management’s decision.

Steiner said that 20 or 30 years ago it was still possible to make a decision based on one race, but now the sport is “becoming more and more complex”.

Steiner wants the “best for the team”

“You just have to see what is best for the team to take it further forward. Where do we want to be? What do we want to do? And then it’s a question of whether Mick can take the team forward with his experience after two years. Or whether we need to get a more experienced driver,” the Haas team boss described the decision-making process.

What is definitely out of the question for Steiner is a team line-up with two young drivers.

“That’s a lesson I’ve learned. If you have a stable and mature team, you can bring a rookie and focus on him. But when you have a young team like ours, there is more to gain by making the team better and not the driver,”

Grosjean advocates Mick Schumacher

Ex-driver Romain Grosjean has a clear opinion on the matter saying “I think Mick deserves the seat,” Grosjean clarified in the Any Driven Monday programme on Sky Sports F1 and added:

“He had a bit of a slow start to the season, but after that he was able to improve significantly and lately he showed some good races.”

Schumacher had made “a few mistakes” during the season, he said. “Everybody makes them and he certainly doesn’t want to repeat some of them,” Grosjean said.

But in the past races, Schumacher had shown “good performances”.

“That’s why I personally think he should keep his place in the team,” Grosjean said.

The former Formula 1 driver, who was at Haas from 2016 to 2020, had already commented on Mick Schumacher’s situation at the US team in the summer.

The German had indeed had a few races in which things didn’t go smoothly, Grosjean told the website GPFans:

“But the car isn’t helping him either, because it’s regressing a bit.”

“It’s incredibly typical of Haas. You start well and then it goes downhill. I know that all too well,” said the Frenchman, who will probably be remembered by every Formula One fan for the fiery crash in Bahrain in which he crashed into the guardrail and extricated himself from a split car in his final season.

Even before the start of the Brazilian Grand Prix next weekend, it could be announced whether Mick Schumacher will drive for Haas in 2023.

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