Haas F1 team owner Gene Haas says Mick Schumacher “has to score some points” if he is to keep his seat at the team in 2023.
Schumacher has competed with Haas for the past two seasons but is now out of contract in 2023. He sits 16th in the Drivers’ Championship, 12 points behind – just over half adrift of team-mate Kevin Magnussen.
Speaking to The Associated Press at Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race in Las Vegas, Haas said Schumacher’s future with the team “depends on Mick.”
“We want Mick to score some points and we’re trying to give him as much time as possible to see what he can do,” Haas said.
“If he wants to stay with us, he has to show us that he can get more points. That’s what we’re waiting for.
Schumacher had two serious crashes in the team early in the second season in Jeddah and Monaco. He crashed again in the final lap at Suzuka, driving into the pits at the end of a wet first practice session and spinning into a barrier.
Haas said he was concerned about Schumacher’s crash. “In this sport, being a novice driver, the sport doesn’t allow it – it’s too expensive,” Haas said of Schumacher’s level of risk. “If you make a mistake in driver selection or strategy or tire selection, you’re spending millions of dollars.”
Schumacher believes he has what it takes to succeed in Formula 1, but his performances this season have not been enough to see past Schumacher’s mistakes.
“I think Mick has a lot of potential, but you know it costs a lot of money and he’s had a lot of cars destroyed which cost us a lot of money that we don’t have,” Haas said. “Now if you bring us some points and you are [Max] Verstappen and you wrecked cars, we’ll deal. But it’s really hard when you’re rear-ending a car.
Asked if Schumacher would have the final four rounds of the season to continue his case with the team, Haas said: “Well, if he wins the next one, he’s in. There’s a gray area in between.”
Haas is one of two teams not to confirm their 2023 F1 driver line-up, the other being Williams.
Advertisement | Become a RaceFans fan and
2022 F1 season
Browse all 2022 F1 current articles
