Steiner finds it “difficult” to say the right things to the Haas F1 duo

The American-owned team is facing a difficult time this year as it has decided not to develop its car any further, which means it has faded into the background.

And since both Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin have had some tough times getting used to F1 machines, Steiner knows he needs to handle the situation carefully.

While Steiner has a reputation for being brutally honest with his feelings about drivers, as has often been seen on the Netflix: Drive to Survive series, he says he needs to be more careful with what he says.

Speaking to the In the Fast Lane podcast, which is produced by the Australian Grand Prix group, Steiner said that telling his drivers the wrong thing could have a negative impact.

“I have to think a lot more and analyze a lot more where we can get the fastest profits,” he said. “Sometimes it is difficult because the wrong words may do the wrong things. For me, the biggest challenge is to give them confidence that they are confident in what they are doing.

“Remember, you are a 21-22 year old man coming into Formula One and all the pressure is on you. It’s not easy just dealing with it in your head. Don’t mind driving one of those cars that are very tricky. So it’s like trying to fill in where I see weaknesses where they struggle the most. “

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Steiner said that even seasoned riders like Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen needed intermittent encouragement to do their best.

“I mean, Kevin, in the first year he came to us, I would say, even if he had already played in Formula 1 for two years, he was pretty insecure and didn’t believe in himself,” Steiner revealed a bit to be helped but he put on weight very quickly when he saw that the team is behind him and that we support him.

“And that’s what I’m trying to do with Mick and Nikita, just to tell them we’re there for you, we’re your first aiders, you know, you have to trust us, we’re doing our best to help you.” ‘. All you have to do is keep your head down, focus, work hard, and just be focused. “

Steiner says Schumacher is “very humble” in his approach to the job, while his teammate Nikita Mazepin had a more difficult start after a few incidents in the early season in Bahrain and Imola.

“I would say his confidence was a little weakened when he walked in. You know Bahrain was very difficult with the track and the wind and it had a couple of turns and I think that made him a bit unsafe. Then, as I said, Mick did a great job, “said Steiner.

“But I think he’s going to deal with it now, you know? In Imola he took a big step forward. So I think it will come. But sure it was a bit more of a shock to him, but he brings his plot together in the moment, you know, I can see he’s making progress. I’ve talked to him all weekend just to look after him and give the best he can. “

Additional reporting from Oleg Karpov