Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing’s “advisor” is usually the one speaking his mind and upsetting various folk in the Formula One paddock. Recently he has become embroiled in an ongoing row over his views of Mick Schumacher’s abilities.
Yet Helmut Marko was positive about the young German driver following his debut points scored last year.
Steiner furious with Mick Schumacher
Having driver for Haas for almost a season and a half without making the top ten points scoring positions, Mick was under pressure from his team boss bunter Steiner to buck up his act.
Schumacher had destroyed his Haas F1 car at the swimming pool section in Monaco last season much to the frustration of his boss.
“The failure in the race was his fault. He got onto the wet and that’s a mistake you can’t afford to make,” a furious Steiner told assembled media after the race.
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Schumacher hits back at Haas boss
Mick’s uncle Ralph Schumacher took Steiner to task over his comments claiming the team was as much to blame as their young driver.
“Such statements are typical of Güenther Steiner again. They leave too much to interpretation. It’s superfluous. The team has also made many mistakes,” wrote Schumacher.
“Now two things have to come together. On the one hand, Mick has to be careful not to make any driving mistakes. But Haas also has to move on because [Kevin] Magnussen is also starting to struggle now.
Marko notes Mick’s progress
Helmut Marko manages the development of the young Red Bull academy drivers and so following Mick’s two scoring outings in Silverstone and Austria he was asked for his thoughts on Schumacher’s performance to date.
“The start is there. Apparently he really needs pressure and criticism, then he performs well. You see it throughout his career. It was similar in Formula 2 and 3. It’s obviously part of his growth trajectory”, Marko told the German RTL broadcaster.
However since then the Austrian has been accused of blocking Mick Schumacher’s recruitment into Alpha Tauri as Franz Tost’s preferred replacement for the departing Pierre Gasly.
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Marko accused of blocking Mick move
“Franz Tost, as the [Alpha Tauri] team manager and team principal, initially wanted a different driver because he knows that it takes two to three years [to get drivers up to speed],” Schumacher claims.
“The driver available on the market was Mick. Mick would have made sense as well.
“But then Dr. Helmut Marko came along and, for personal reasons or whatever it may be, didn’t want that and chose Nyck de Vries, instead.”
“It seems that Helmut Marko has a problem with the Schumacher name,” added Schumacher.
“Even though I have a good relationship with him personally, it seems he has some problem with Mick because otherwise, it’s not understandable to me why it didn’t work out from the beginning.
Marko responds to Schumacher accusations
De Vries has come under fire for his below expected performances this year being just one of two drivers failing to score a point after six F1 events.
The young dutchman has won junior championships and the Formula E title and following his debut at Williams and points scored in M ones last year was expected to lead the Alpha tour team according to Marko.
Helmut Marko has responded to Schumaher’s accusations speaking to oe24.
“I have no problem with the name Schumacher.”
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Mick is good for marketing
“I talk to Ralf regularly. But he is confusing one thing: our F1 program is based on performance, not on marketing,” Marko quipped.
The insinuation is that Mick was potentially brought into F1 by Haas at a time when the team required more sponsorship funding and the Schumacher name, made famous by his father winning seven world titles, could be utilised from a marketing perspective.
Mick is currently the Mercedes reserve driver having been released over the last racing weekend of last season by Haas and with no time to find an alternative seat.
Wolff hits out at Steiner’s treatment of Mick
Toto Wolff hit out at Steiner’s treatment of Mick Schumacher stating at a recent GP, “I’m looking out for the little one. I can only say that his parents did nothing wrong in bringing him up.
“And I believe that if Michael had accompanied his son during the two Haas years, Steiner would not have dared to treat Mick like that!”
Steiner made a number of outbursts about his driver following Mick’s crashes. The most expletive filled was following a crash at the second day of the year in Saudi Arabia 2022 where the Haas boss let rip in front of assembled media.
“We give him a year to learn, what does he do on the second day? He f***ing destroys the car, just because the other guy is faster.”
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