On the eve of the Russian Grand Prix, Haas announced that Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin would stay for another season with only one place left on the 2022 starting grid. Lawrence Barretto, Senior Writer at F1.com, examines why this decision was made …
Schumacher on the right track
When Günther Steiner signed a contract to bring Mick Schumacher – son of seven-time world champion Michael – into Formula 1, he did so with the intention of leading him for at least two seasons.German was confirmed to stay for the 2022 campaign.
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There was a desire from the Schumacher camp to look into the possibility of moving to Alfa Romeo next season, but that was always unlikely as Steiner had a contract with Ferrari to run him and I understand none Page was interested in changing its plans.
Schumacher became after a series of encouraging performances with Haas. adopted for 2022
Schumacher has done a decent job in his rookie campaign so far. Yes, there were mistakes – such as a crash when exiting the pit during a safety car phase in Imola. But that’s to be expected from a young driver who gets along in a very difficult – and slow – car.
Fortunately, there have been peaks, including a time good enough for Q2 in France in a car that is by far the slowest in the field. The team is impressed by the German – as is Ferrari, with whom he is still part of their youth program.
Ferrari has been working with Schumacher for several years. They know he needs time to get to grips with a new championship. So the fact that he didn’t beat teammate Nikita Mazepin from the start won’t come as a surprise.
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A second season in now familiar surroundings, in a car that should get a lot better next year – Haas were the first team to switch full resources to the rule change for next year and they will continue to adopt many parts of their technical partnership with Ferrari , which will include a completely new engine that is expected to be a good step forward – is the perfect scenario for the Scuderia to properly assess Schumacher.
Schumacher remains part of the Ferrari junior program, with the team keeping a close eye on his progress
History has shown that Schumacher is starting his second season with a team, which is encouraging for Haas as they hope to score points regularly over the next year – and run a driver with a famous last name who is attractive to sponsors, is also beneficial for the team’s stature and bank balance.
Now it’s up to Schumacher Jr to prove that he has what it takes.
Mazepin remains part of the Haas rebuild
Like Schumacher, Mazepin’s presence at Haas has always been on plan beyond this season, which helped in part because his billionaire father, Dmitry, pumped significant funds into the team.
As it stands, this is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, which means Mazepin will remain part of Haas’ future as well.
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The Russian was outdone by his teammate this year and was only in the lead twice when both saw the checkered flag.
Although there have been a handful of incidents on the track, Haas has remained loyal to both drivers for the next season
There were too many clashes between him and Schumacher on the track – none of the drivers were at fault – and like his team-mate, he has to improve his consistency. But a year of learning should do him well for the next season.
And assuming the car is way better than hoped, the thousands of miles he’s covered in a more responsive and former champion Mercedes before making his F1 debut should be more useful to him as he’s trying to show he’s a place up he deserves the network in the long term.
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Zhou is the favorite on the remaining Alfa place
And so we only have one place left and all eyes are on Alfa Romeo.
Guanyu Zhou has been the front runner for months to get a seat on the Swiss team, but her priority has been to win nine-time race winner Valtteri Bottas.
Zhou could become the first Chinese driver on the F1 grid
As soon as this deal was signed, you could concentrate more on the second seat – and here the team has more leeway than in previous years. Because engine supplier Ferrari no longer has a say in who drives one of the cockpits.
The Ferrari relationship remains strong, so team boss Fred Vasseur will continue the driving dialogue with the Italian team, not least because the works team has a strong driver academy – but can ultimately be his own man.
Zhou is currently runner-up in the F2 championship, 15 points behind the leaders and started this year, showing a more mature approach to racing. Vasseur has experience bleeding young talent, so taking the Chinese driver under his wing will not upset him.
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The 22-year-old also brings financial support that would help bring Alfa Romeo closer to the budget gap – although I understand that these are nowhere near the mouth-watering amounts advertised in some media.
Will Giovinazzi keep the remaining Alfa drive since Raikkonen’s seat goes to Bottas and Schumacher is confirmed in Haas?
Zhou’s level of awareness is growing dramatically in China – a market that many teams would like to tap into – even before he even has a spare roll, let alone a racing seat. Should he make it onto the net, the commercial opportunities would be huge.
With this in mind, he may not be the fastest young driver on the market, but a crisp all-round package – and that’s what makes him prefer to be on the field.
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A contract has not yet been signed, however, so it remains for Antonio Giovinazzi to find a way to keep his spot for a fourth season or for Formula E champion Nyck de Vries, supported by Mercedes, to find his way in to force competition.
But it looks like it looks very good for China to get its first Formula 1 racing driver.
The post ANALYSIS: Why Haas kept Schumacher and Mazepin – and what that means for the last vacant seat at Alfa Romeo first appeared on monter-une-startup.
