Mick Schumacher explains the reason behind ‘PTW’ after losing his F1 seat as he adds on the up and down time and future.
Post losing his F1 seat to Hulkenberg at Haas, Schumacher penned a statement of his own which ended with ‘PTW’ – meaning ‘Prove Them Wrong’. It is something the German noted that he has been saying all-year long when it became apparent that he is in danger.
Ever since Kevin Magnussen came in the team and delivered from the get go, the position of Schumacher at Haas shook and his incidents at the start of the year, only added to the problem. The patience of Gene Haas and Guenther Steiner started to run out.
By midway in the season, it started to become clear that Schumacher might lose his F1 seat and that the Haas management were certain about hiring an experienced campaigner. Eventually, Hulkenberg was roped in to partner Magnussen for 2023.
While explaining the message, Schumacher noted that he has proven his credentials in junior categories and he sees no issues for him to do in F1. “PTW, it’s been pretty much what I’ve been saying most part of this year,” he said.
“And yeah, I just felt like saying that because I think I want to prove everybody wrong who doesn’t believe in me, because I know what I can do. I’ve proven that in the junior categories, and I don’t see a reason why I can’t do that in Formula 1 either,” summed up Schumacher, who admitted that his season has been an up and down one.
He felt that 2022 was the first year for him since 2021 was mostly spent at the back. “We’ve had our ups and downs for sure but I think that the trend was always pointing upwards and I think that that’s what’s important, and it’s only my second year in Formula 1,” said Schumacher.
“Last year, I don’t even know if you can really count it as a year, because obviously it was a tough one. We were only at the back. And so yeah, it was definitely something I had to get used to, being in the midfield pack fighting and I feel that across the year we’ve managed to do that and I feel like I’ve extracted the maximum out of each situation, I’d say. So yeah, I feel that the trend was there,” summed up Schumacher.
With the Haas seat gone and Ferrari links ending, Schumacher is a free agent and has been linked with Mercedes in a reserve role who have lost Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoore. For now, the German is trying to put himself in a position to have a better future.
“I just want to put myself into a position where I know it’s going to be right for me and whether that’s a reserve, if that’s driving, that’s to be discussed and to be analysed and I have the people that I trust around me who I will be consulting with and then yeah, I’ll come up with some news hopefully soon,” noted Schumacher.
Here’s Nico Hulkenberg on first F1 test in years
