Haas Formula 1 boss Gunther Steiner doesn’t expect Mick Schumacher’s confidence will be knocked after his high-speed qualifying crash in Saudi Arabia.
Approaching the fast chain of corners at Turns 10/11/12 on a flying lap, Schumacher lost control of his car before slamming into the concrete wall on the left-hand side of the track.
The hefty impact caused severe damage to his Haas F1 car and, after being taken to hospital for precautionary checks, Schumacher was found to have suffered no injuries.
But Schumacher was ruled out from competing in the grand prix despite feeling in good shape, aiming to build on his career-best finish at the season opener in Bahrain with Haas enjoying a major upswing in form.
Steiner is backing Schumacher to bounce back at the upcoming Australian Grand Prix, believing Haas’ strong start to the season will only increase his appetite.
“I don’t think that he’ll lose confidence,” Steiner said, as quoted by Motorsport.com. “Obviously now the target is set a little bit higher than last year. Last year there was no question at all, we contended to be 19th and 20th. Because that was where we were – consistently, by the way.
“So this year, we think it’s a good thing for him [to have more pressure]. Because you have to learn this. I continue to say the higher up you get, the thinner the air gets. So you need to deal with it.
“It’s part of being an F1 driver. Dealing with pressure that’s any high-profile sport or management position, it’s like the pressure is on, and if you don’t like the pressure, go and do something else.”
Haas has already eclipsed the number of points it scored the past two years combined after the opening two races of 2022, after Kevin Magnussen’s successive top-10 finishes in Bahrain and Jeddah.
Schumacher, now in his second season in F1, is still chasing his maiden career points, and Steiner felt digging deeper into the cause of the crash would enable the German to put the setback behind him.
“We need to talk it through, but I think he needs to do that, because we didn’t drive the car, we need to show what he wants to see,” Steiner said.
“And I think [we need to] compare the data with Kevin, and I haven’t compared the data. So did he try too hard? I don’t know what it was. Was the tyre not warm enough? We need to find out.
“Then I think just getting back in a car, then you gain this confidence again.”
