Haas Chief Defends Himself As Fans Lash Out Over Mick Schumacher Attack
Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has defended himself after fans of Drive to Survive lashed out at him for how he dealt with Mick Schumacher.
The 2022 season was a rollercoaster ride for Mick Schumacher, with the young German driver facing immense pressure to prove his worth to the Haas team. While he did have some standout performances, his tendency to crash the car and inconsistency ultimately made him a liability for the squad.
The Netflix series Drive to Survive captured the drama unfolding behind the scenes, with team principal Guenther Steiner and team owner Gene Haas growing increasingly frustrated with Schumacher's costly mistakes. In one particularly heated moment, Steiner went on a tirade after the German driver's car was split in half during a crash in Saudi Arabia.
"It is f***," Steiner shouted. "Between half a million and a million I would say. F****** hell. Give him a year to learn and what does he do in the second race? He f****** destroys the car just because the other one is faster."
This wasn't an isolated incident either, as the tension between Schumacher and his team continued to mount throughout the season. In the end, the decision was made to drop the Schumacher son ahead of the 2023 campaign, with veteran driver Nico Hulkenberg stepping in to take his place.
When asked about the decision and his treatment of Schumacher, Steiner urged fans not to read too much into his comments.
"I didn’t watch it but I made the comment," he said. "In the heat of the moment I sometimes say things but then you think back a few hours later.
“Obviously Drive to Survive shows the world in the most trickly moments and that’s what the show needs to do.
“I mean what was said was said, I didn’t think it would make it, but it was decided not to take it out because we have nothing to hide this.
“It is what it is. I’m not ashamed of it.
“As I said I can explain it as in the heat of the moment in the races you say things I wouldn’t say now, for example.
“Things like this happen in racing so we shouldn’t go too deep into it to analyse my mental state.”
As for Schumacher himself, he'll be spending the 2023 season as Mercedes' reserve driver in the hopes of making a return to the grid in 2024, but in the meantime, working on the disappointing W14.