The future of Schumacher? It’s 50/50, says Haas boss Guenther Steiner. What other options does the German racer have?

What about Mick Schumacher? That’s one of the big themes we’re currently finding in the Formula 1 environment. According to the latest information, the Haas team still doesn’t know whether they will keep the son of the famous legend or if they will have to move. So what did the head of the stable, Guenther Steiner, say in a recent interview?

The 2020 Formula 2 champion made his debut in the queen of motorsport in the 2021 season when he joined the American Haas team. Just last year, however, he raced in a completely uncompetitive car and alongside Nikita Mazepin.

However, in the new season, or rather in the first few races, even with a much more powerful monoposto, no improvement came at first. Moreover, Schumacher literally shot up his Haas in Saudi Arabia on the very second race weekend, then cut the monocoque in half in Monaco as well.

Both of these accidents cost Haas more than one million dollars. It should be noted, Schumacher didn’t do well in F2 at first either, and then the turning point came and Mick became champion.

And something very similar can be said about the Formula 1 involvement. In short, 18 months went by and Schumacher started to do well. He scored his first points at Silverstone, where he finished eighth and scored his first four points in the drivers’ championship.

In the very next race, the Austrian Grand Prix, he had an even better result, finishing in a superb sixth place and picking up another eight points. It should be noted that Schumacher came very close to scoring points in the first race of the season (Bahrain – ed.), where he finished 11th.

Schumacher would probably have finished on points in the Canadian Grand Prix as well, if not for an engine failure and subsequent retirement from the race.

In Hungary, Haas then fitted upgrades, but they did not work as the American team had originally intended. He finished 14th at the Hungaroring, 17th in Belgium, 13th in the Netherlands and 12th at Monza.

Mick has improved, but…

So it’s safe to say that Schumacher, after breaking the magic 18 month time limit, has finally picked up his first points and is driving much more sensibly than before. But will it be enough to keep the young German driver’s place not only in Haas, but in Formula 1?

If the American team were to decide which driver they wanted to keep, it would very likely be Kevin Magnussen. He delivered 10 more points to Haas, even though it was the Danish driver who scored 10 points in the opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

But finance will also play a big part, an area where Magnussen simply has the edge over his teammate. But in terms of race results, Schumacher has beaten his teammate ten times, while Magnussen has only won five times in this interplay.

Since the British Grand Prix, Schumacher has been higher than the Danish driver in the results every time, apart from the French Grand Prix.

Steiner’s statement

“We are still looking for what is best for the team. And if we’re only looking at the qualities that a driver brings. I’ll be honest, we don’t know if Mick will stay or not. He had very good races in Canada, Britain and Austria, but he lacks consistency – he should be this strong more often,” said Steiner, who was quoted by Racing News 365.

“We are in no hurry to make a decision and Mick still has the opportunity to show what he can do. We can’t put pressure on anyone, we’d be shooting ourselves in the foot,” Steiner said in another interview, this time with RTL.

“We don’t have to rush anywhere, and that’s what all the other teams want. It’s an advantage we don’t want to take away,” the Haas boss concluded.

Other alternatives

So if the Haas decision turns out to be negative for the German rider, he still has two realistic options for where he could work from next year.

The Williams team officially announced the end of Nicholas Latifi on Friday 23 September and, according to the latest speculation, none of the potential suitors seems to be the favourite to take his seat.

The other option could be the Alpine team, but it has been linked to the transfer of Pierre Gasly from AlphaTauri. We’ll have to wait for the full puzzle to be solved. However, over the summer, we received information from a reliable source directly from the Formula 1 paddock.

And it said that Mick was about to get a contract in the DTM championship.

Sources: F1 Paddock, Racing News 365, F1