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- Mick Schumacher was one of three Ferrari Driver Academy drivers, along with Nikita Mazepin, who were considered for driving with the Haas F1 Team.
- The decision to sign Schumacher was ultimately only made on the recommendation of Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto.
- Haas is well on its way to finishing ninth in the F1 Constructors’ Championship this year after finishing a solid fifth two years ago.
Ferrari chose which of its Ferrari Academy drivers would drive for the Haas F1 team in 2021, says the head of the American team, Gunther Steiner.
Haas finally announced on Wednesday that Mick Schumacher will make his F1 debut next year. The 21-year-old Schumacher (No. 20 in the picture above) will work with the 21-year-old Nikita Mazepin (No. 24) next year. Both come straight from Formula 2.
“Of course it attracts a lot of attention worldwide, so we have to handle it well,” said Steiner.
Steiner said it was never a given that Schumacher and not the other F2 racing drivers and Ferrari Academy drivers Callum Ilott or Robert Shwartzman would get the nod. He said that when team owner Gene Haas was open to signing two newcomers: “I wanted someone from Formula 2, not the classes that would be too dangerous for me. Because of our collaboration with Ferrari, of course I spoke to (Ferrari) team principal) Mattia Binotto, I asked what he was doing with his juniors and if we could get one of them.
“But the names have not been discussed at this point.”
Steiner said he was drawn to the drivers’ collaboration with Ferrari, including the upcoming talks about “how we can best bring their experiences to life. We also show that we have the courage to try something.”
“But the guys who get promoted from Formula 2 are better prepared than they were 10 years ago. I haven’t spent a lot of time with Mick because of the Corona restrictions, but he is a very polite and mature young man who is most important is very fast. “
Steiner said team owner Haas, 68, initially had concerns about the all-rookie plan, but ultimately agreed with Steiner that the team must pursue a strategy that Steiner described as longer-term.
“After the Concorde deal was signed and it was clear that we (in sport) would keep going, we started thinking about how to get back to our old form from 2018,” he said, referring to the strong fifth place in the Teams in the constructors’ championship.
“Sometimes you have to take one step back to get two forward.”
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