Mick Schumacher must learn to deal with the extra pressure that comes with a better Haas car in 2022, team boss Guenther Steiner says.
The young German has had a tricky start to the season, as a first lap incident with Esteban Ocon hampered him in Bahrain before Mick missed the race in Jeddah following a huge crash in qualifying.
In contrast, teammate Kevin Magnussen, who only re-joined Haas the day before the second pre-season test, has scored points at both races so far.
“Obviously now the target is set a little bit higher than last year,” Steiner said, with Haas arguably the fourth-fastest team currently.
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“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, 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.”
Schumacher also acknowledges he needs to step up and is sure his new partnership with Magnussen can help him do it.
“You have to recentre and realign your expectations. Last year, the expectations were to be, hopefully, in P16. This year, we can actually be in P5 if everything goes right,” he said.
“I have to say I feel more comfortable this year in the construction of how it is and how we (me and Kevin) have a working relationship. I think it is pretty great.
“He’s been in motorsport for a very long time, a lot more years than what I have.
“He’s driven Formula 1 for a few years, he’s been able to drive different cars and different generations of cars and, to be able to come in and feel the new car right away, I think it’s a great bonus.”
Asked what he can learn most from the Dane, Schumacher replied…
“I think just the whole general construction of how to build up a weekend, what he’s feeling and how he’s feeling things, and comparing it to how I feel,” he explained.
Kevin & Mick ??#HaasF1 pic.twitter.com/4BMTrOruKA
— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) April 2, 2022
“That’s basically where we both progress from each other and learn from each other.
“We’re sharing every information, and it is a very open discussion on how we approach some corners and how we feel some ways of how the car behaves, and then [we] just put those together and try to improve the car from there.
“Sometimes I go quicker, sometimes Kevin goes quicker. Then it’s just like a buildup and you arrive at qualifying knowing that you’ve maximised, on both sides of the garage, what you have.”
