Left aside by Haas at the end of the last Formula 1 season, Mick Schumacher was widely criticized by Günther Steiner, boss of the American team, in the new season of the series “Drive to Survive” on Netflix. A passage that did not appreciate Ralf Schumacher, younger brother of Michael Schumacher.
Reserve driver for Mercedes, Mick Schumacher is away from the races for a season. The young German driver was not retained by the Haas team at the end of the previous season because of his disappointing performance. In 2022, the German driver finished 16th in the standings, with two races out of 21 finishing in the points as well as two retirements and one forfeit. In season 5 of the series “Drive to Survive”, available since February 24 on Netflix, Günther Steiner did not hesitate to denigrate his former protégé.
“When you treat a member of my family like that, I don’t like it.”
Boss of Haas, Günther Steiner replaced Mick Schumacher with Nico Hülkenberg to support Kevin Magnussen this season. The Italian team principal had said that the change was intended to bring experience back into the team and that he had not envisaged “that Mick (Schumacher) would have so many accidents last year, because he had already had them the year before”.
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Ralf Schumacher defended his nephew in an interview with AutoBild, reported by RMC:
“I think it’s a pity it has come to this. I think, as a man and also as a father, that you don’t treat a young person like that. Mick is part of my family and you have to understand me: when you treat a member of my family like that, I don’t like it, because my name is Schumacher…”
Ralf Schumacher confident
“Ralfie” as he is sometimes called, added that if his brother Michael, still in a serious state of health, was at his son’s side, Steiner’s words would have been different. And although his nephew Mick is no longer on the grid, Ralf Schumacher is not worried about his future:
“Although Mick didn’t get a fair chance in the second half of the season, and knowing that he had a team boss who didn’t want him anymore, he did a great job and that impressed me a lot. He just needs patience and a little bit of luck to get back in the car.”
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Mick Schumacher exemplifies the control authorities have over results. If he was an actual asset to F1 he’d be World Champion by now, despite being an ordinary man in a privileged position.