Mick Schumacer (left) and Sebastian Vettel
First points, new me. That’s probably the attitude Mick Schumacher will be racing with after scoring his maiden Formula 1 points at this past weekend’s British Grand Prix.
The Haas driver has been under enormous pressure, especially from team boss Guenther Steiner, to bring home points, and would have had it on top of his mind as he approached the last couple of races. Fortunately for Schumacher, a series of events brought everything together, and could he cross the finish line in eighth place, registering four points to his name.
While four points seem like nothing, it is a lot for Schumacher who has been challenging in F1 since 2021, with points-scoring opportunities always close but out of reach. Schumacher’s teammate, Kevin Magnussen, finished the race in 10th place, scoring one point.
In 2022 so far, Haas has scored 20 points – 16 coming at Magnussen’s hands.
‘We showed it’
Schumacher’s entry to F1 has been marred by controversy from all sides. If it’s not his surname that paved his way to F1, it’s his close ties with the Ferrari F1 team. And when it was rumoured that Steiner wanted to axe the youngster in light of poor performances, Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto vetoed such a move.
Through it all, Schumacher had to prove his worth, but a series of bad events did not aid his cause. The German broke his car in Saudi Arabia and Monaco, sending the team’s repair budget into overdrive. Something no team wants with a budget cap hanging over their heads. Everything just increased for the 23-year-old, and all the while, he is not scoring points – which can result in much-needed financial benefits for the team at the end of each season.
At the British GP, Schumacher and Magnussen qualified in 19th and 17th, respectively, but turned a difficult qualifying into a great race result. With several drivers retiring from the race, the two Haas drivers made good use of their opportunities to finish inside the top 10. And for Schumacher, it lifted the world off his shoulders to finally add a point to his name.
“We’re really happy,” Schumacher said. “Coming back from P19, I said we have the speed to go forwards, and we definitely showed it today. It’s great for the team, a double-finish in the points, so that’s obviously very helpful in the constructors. For me, I’m happy now to focus on what’s really important, and that’s the racing and the driving.”
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