The chances that Mick Schumacher will drive in Formula 1 in the coming season are getting smaller. His Haas racing team takes its time and wants to see a good result from the 23-year-old in the Singapore laundry room. It will be a first for him at the place many racers fear.
Mick Schumacher did without the special training in the sauna. In the struggle for a new Formula 1 contract, the 23-year-old does not deviate from his routine even before the Grand Prix in the tropically hot and particularly sweaty Singapore. “I don’t change my preparation, even in a special place like Singapore,” said Schumacher before his race premiere in the Asian city-state. He has only seen the airport so far, but has never been under floodlights on the street circuit. “I’m really looking forward to experiencing the track myself,” said Schumacher ahead of the Grand Prix.
For the son of record world champion Michael Schumacher, the main concern is his future. The former Formula 2 champion still has no contract with the US team Haas beyond the end of the year. And the Americans are in no hurry to do anything about it. Team manager Günther Steiner said the German had a “fantastic job” after he finished twelfth in Monza. A total of twelve World Championship points after 16 of 22 races and 15th place overall still remain a meager record.
And the options are dwindling. Alfa Romeo announced on Tuesday that the Chinese Guanyu Zhou will continue to drive for the Swiss team next year, as expected. Even if Schumacher’s move there was rather unlikely, there are only three free seats left for 2023: at Haas, Williams and Alpine. Above all, going to the French Renault successor team Alpine seems unrealistic. Even if their regular driver Esteban Ocon was already advertising for his buddy Schumacher.
According to media reports, there are still a large number of candidates for the second Williams cockpit after the Canadian Nicholas Latifi left after the current season. Schumacher is not one of the favorites.
Meanwhile, Formula 1 sports director Ross Brawn emphasized the importance of Schumacher’s continued employment for the reputation of the entire racing series in Germany. It is “extremely important that Mick Schumacher continues his career in Formula 1. As fascinating and important as the technology in Formula 1 is: the kids hang posters of the heroes behind the wheel in their room,” said Brawn in the Sport1 interview .
The Englishman Brawn had worked closely with Mick’s father Michael at Benetton and Ferrari and was instrumental in his seven world titles. He is currently one of many advocates. But the positive comments about the impeccable behavior, the ambition and the work ethic have not helped Schumacher to a new working paper.
There are six races left this season, starting in Singapore’s laundry room. The course earned this name thanks to temperatures of up to 30 degrees even at night and enormous humidity. “A lot of people say it’s difficult because of the humidity but also because of the characteristics of the track – so we’ll see what we can do,” said Schumacher.
In tropical conditions, the pilots face very special tasks on Sunday (2 p.m. / Sky and in the ntv.de live ticker). Nowhere else do the drivers lose so much fluid and are physically challenged so hard. Ferrari star Carlos Sainz therefore completed endurance training in the sauna before leaving, McLaren colleague Daniel Ricciardo once called his first Singapore assignment the “toughest experience” of his life. Although the average speeds on the temporary circuit in the metropolis are not particularly high, the longest race of the season is still waiting.
Because of the corona pandemic, the Far East was not driven in 2020 and 2021 – the last Grand Prix in 2019 was won by ex-world champion Sebastian Vettel in a Ferrari. In contrast to Schumacher, the 35-year-old is driving on one of his favorite tracks for the last time. Vettel resigns at the end of November.
