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Haas driver Mick Schumacher has come out saying he is confident of the 2022 Haas F1 car. The driver feels the team has made sizeable improvements to all aspects of their machinery over 2021.
In an interview with Motorsport.com, the son of legendary F1 driver Michael Schumacher revealed that he is excited about the 2022 Haas car. He talked about the cars and his expectations regarding them, saying:
“The car looks to be very positive, from what I see and hear. So, I have great expectations. Hopefully, they’ll meet my expectations next year on track.”
Haas opted against developing its car in 2021, saving money and manpower for 2022 cars. The new technical regulations for this season have been the team's focus since late 2020 when they announced that they wouldn't be working on a fresh car for last year's edition of F1.
Much to the surprise of team principal Guenther Steiner, Mick Schumacher found form towards the end of the season despite actively being compared only to teammate Nikita Mazepin. He beat his Russian teammate 20 out of 22 times in qualifying and placed ahead of him in almost all races.
The German driver is also excited to be involved in the design of the 2022 car as it will be his first time being a part of the decision-making process. Having raced in equal-spec cars up until entering F1, Schumacher spoke about his love for the technical side of F1 and his role in the development of the highly anticipated car. He said:
“It’s always something that has interested me for so many years, just how things work in general, and especially how a Formula 1 car works. I’m quite heavily involved in what next year’s (2022) car is doing, and just want to understand it and see all the CAD models and stuff. So, there are definitely lots of points that I’m looking forward to analyzing at the beginning of next year.”
Schumacher and Mazepin failed to score any points for Haas and didn't really compete with any other drivers.
Mick Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel share special bond
Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher share a special bond as the four-time world champion acts as a mentor to the German rookie. Michael Schumacher played a similar role to Vettel when the latter was new to F1, guiding him through the ropes of the technical sport.
Sebastian Vettel praised Schumacher Jr. for his incredible work ethic in his rookie year. The former Red Bull driver claimed the 21-year-old lacks the car to show off his actual racing prowess. He said of his fellow German:
“Well, I think it’s difficult to judge because the car has been so far off. but for those who were looking and looking closely – obviously, I’ve been following and yes, I think he did an incredible job with such a poor car to reach qualifying segment two a couple of times, to have strong showings in the race, fight some of the other cars that are much faster, stick with the cars ahead that are supposed to be much faster. That’s a great effort.”
Both drivers are set to team up for the Race of Champions, scheduled for early February in Sweden. Vettel and Michael Schumacher have teamed up for the annual event in the past, winning the Nation's Cup six years in a row from 2007 to 2012.
