Mick Schumacher hopes one “good moment” can trigger an “avalanche” as his early-season struggles continued at Imola.
Starting P10, the German’s chance of points ended at Tamburello as he fell to the back of the field after a half spin following contact with Fernando Alonso.
Another moment followed later in the race at the Variante Alta, ultimately resulting in a lowly 17th place finish ahead of Daniel Ricciardo.
“Definitely. I think we had the pace to be around P10,” Schumacher commented post-race. “I think it’s not the first time we had the chance for points; I think we had [it] multiple times already this year.
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“It was just a matter of it being too tight going through Turns 2 and 3. Maybe [I was] risking a little bit too much after a poor start.
“Obviously, from there on, it doesn’t really matter what happens, just because you’re trying so hard to get back to it.
“Even if I hadn’t lost it at the chicane on the wet grass, it wouldn’t have changed our position in that case.”
After four races, Schumacher is now only one of two drivers yet to score a point in 2022, the other being Williams’ Nicholas Latifi.
In contrast, Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen has scored points on three occasions to sit 10th in the Drivers’ standings.
— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) April 29, 2022
Mick though is confident he can turn things around, citing his European F3 championship success in 2018.
“I had this kind of championship in the past where the first races didn’t go to plan and then once I had a good weekend things just started rolling like an avalanche so I’m just waiting for that good moment,” he said via GPFans.
“It’s not frustration rising, it’s just a matter of annoyance because I want to be in the points.
“I enjoy racing and I surely enjoy racing in the points and with the top guys. We had the car to do that at Imola but unfortunately, I just didn’t get there.”
Mick’s uncle Ralf Schumacher was frustrated by his nephew’s performance though, particularly in conditions where his father usually thrived.
“He did a good job in dry conditions, and the result in the Sprint was great, but there were too many mistakes in the race,” he said.
“Starting in rainy conditions is difficult, even Daniel Ricciardo slid wide. It can happen to anyone but the second mistake was just too much. It has to be said that this shouldn’t happen.”