Haas has announced the departure of Mick Schumacher from the team at the end of the 2022 F1 season.
Having joined the team in 2021 after spending time as reserve in 2020, Schumacher will not continue with Haas beyond the 2022 season with the outfit not choosing to renew his contract which was due to end with the Abu Dhabi GP this weekend.
Schumacher made his F1 debut under difficult circumstances when Haas were going through a recovery phase where they shelved the 2021 season to be better prepared for 2022. He had his teammate replaced this year with Kevin Magnussen coming in.
Despite the points scored, Schumacher has had an up and down season with crashes which wasn’t pleasant for his case. With the delay in re-signing, it started becoming evident that the German may not continue as the name of Nico Hulkenberg started to come in.
“I would like to thank Mick Schumacher for his contribution to the team over the past couple of years,” said Guenther Steiner. “Mick’s pedigree in the junior categories was well known and he has continued to grow and develop as a driver in his time with Haas F1 Team – culminating in his first Formula 1 points-scoring successes earlier this season.
“While choosing to go in separate directions for the future the entire team wishes Mick well for the next steps in his career path and beyond.” His replacement will be announced in due course of time with Hulkenberg tipped to take over.
Interestingly, there was no quote from Schumacher in the press release with a German opting to share his on his own social media. There is natural disappointment whose chance of racing in 2023 is less likely with only one seat at Williams remaining.
Schumacher is linked with a reserve role at Mercedes. “This is going to be my last race with Haas F1 Team,” he said. “I don’t want to hide the fact that I am very disappointed about the decision to not to renew our contract.
“Nevertheless, I would like to thank both Haas F1 and Ferrari for giving me this opportunity. Those years together have helped me to mature both technically and personally. And specially when things got difficult, I realised how much I love this sport.
“It was at times bumpy but I steadily improved, learned a lot and now know for sure that I deserve a place in Formula 1. The subject is anything but closed for me. Setbacks only make you stronger. My fire burns for Formula 1 and I will fight hard to return to the starting grid. PTW.”