Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale
Friday, May 21, 2021, 2:40 p.m.
Haas team boss Günther Steiner is impressed by the progress of his rookie drivers in Monaco, although Mick Schumacher’s session ended prematurely with a fall.
The German slipped into the barriers in the closing stages of the second practice session in Massenet, damaged the right rear of the car and brought out the red flags to end the session.
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“He got into the groove, he had a lot of traffic, but otherwise he did what he always does,” Steiner said.
“I think he just got a little close to Checo [Perez] and lost a bit of downforce and then just the rear of the car came loose and hit the barrier. ”
“I think the damage is the rear-right suspension, but it doesn’t look bad. I hope nothing went into the gearbox, but it usually only looks on TV if you just watch it on TV.”
Adding to the team’s overall effort, he added, “I think there is more to come. I can wait for it. I’d rather have the day we had with the times we have and make the progress we made to have.
“Most of the guys have done 50 laps so actually I’m … even if Mick hits the back of the car, I’m still pretty happy because it happened at the end of practice.
“If it hadn’t happened I would of course have been happier, but all in all we can say it was a good decent day.”
For the first time this season, both Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin were able to get a similar pace out of the VF21, with the Russian driver outperforming his teammate on the roads of the principality.
Morale has improved after challenging Williams in qualifying at the last two races in Portugal and Spain, but Steiner insists there is still more to be given.
Regarding the goals for the rest of the weekend, Steiner said: “Stay away from the walls that we actually haven’t reached [on Thursday].
“We met them, but not badly. Despite that, we haven’t lost many laps and that’s the most important thing for me here.
“It’s the same every weekend. I’m sure we can get faster, I don’t know how much faster, but we’re not full yet. If we can keep it at the level we are now, I am very happy.”
The post Haas progress not squandered by Schumacher crash – Steiner first appeared on monter-une-startup.
