(Motorsport) Gene Haas, the owner of Formula 1 racing team Haas has said that Mick Schumacher must secure some points in the final four races of the 2022 season in order to earn a new deal. Mick, who is the son of seven time World Champion Michael Schumacher has scored 12 points in 18 races so far and Gene Haas has said that the driver “costs a fortune” due to his crashes and that “Mick's future is going to be decided by Mick.” The 23 year old is currently 16th in the standings out of the 20 drivers and has been involved in one less race than the others after being forced to remain in the hospital following a crash during qualifying in the Saudi Arabian GP. In comparison, his Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen has 22 points and is ranked 14th in the standings.
Speaking to the Associated Press about Mick Schumacher’s future, Gene Haas said “We need Mick to bring some points and we're trying to give him as much time as possible to see what he can do. If he wants to stay with us, he's got to show us that he can score some more points. That's what we are waiting for. We started off the year with resounding success and I think the middle season wasn't too good, and we just seem to fall back into our usual way of running. We've just got to get out of that. And Formula 1 is so tough. When I started there was six seconds between the leaders and the backend and you had a 107 percent rule. Now we're all within two seconds, so it's gotten a lot tougher and there are no bad teams anymore.
“In this sport, being kind of a rookie driver, the sport just doesn't allow it – it's just too expensive. If you make any mistakes in driver selection, strategy or tire selection, it is costing you millions of dollars. I think Mick has got a lot of potential but you know he costs a fortune and he's wrecked a lot of cars that have cost us a lot of money that we just don't have. Now, if you bring us some points, and you are (Max) Verstappen and you wreck cars, we'll deal with it. But when you are in the back and you wreck cars, that's very difficult." When asked if he will need to secure points in the next four races to secure his future, Haas said “Well, if he wins the next one, he's in. Somewhere in between there is a grey area."
While Gene Haas is completely justified in expecting his drivers to earn their place in Formula 1, Mick Schumacher is undoubtedly an exciting prospect who requires a competitive car and a patient team to bring out the best of him. Since the British Grand Prix, Schumacher has finished ahead of Magnussen in seven races out of nine and he was unlucky in Singapore after George Russell collided with him while the race strategy let him down in Japan.
His Formula 1 future with Haas is not in jeopardy because of his lack of points, rather it’s the fact that Haas have had to pay for significant damages incurred due to multiple crashes of his car, something that the team simply cannot afford. Schumacher has previously won the 2018 FIA F3 European Championship and the 2020 Formula 2 Championship, which is the biggest indication of what the driver is capable of in a competitive car, but rookie drivers tend to make mistakes and Schumacher needs a team that will be patient with him in a competitive car. According to various reports, Schumacher is expected to part ways with the Ferrari Drivers Academy at the end of the 2022 season, which would mean his future in Formula 1 largely depends on Haas and his performances with Ferrari not expected to move him to Scudera AlphaTauri if his current team let him go.
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