Mick Schumacher is confident in the strides Haas has made in 2022 and believes he will be fighting for points this year.
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Haas F1 team driver Mick Schumacher believes 2022 will be a good year for the American team in Formula 1.
To be fair, almost anything would be an improvement over 2021. Haas chose not to develop their car last season, doing the bare minimum to meet the small new rule changes.
The result was a car that was comfortably the slowest on the grid. And their cause was not helped by having two rookie drivers; Schumacher was partnered by Nikita Mazepin, who will drive for the team this year too.
But Schumacher is confident in the strides the team has made in 2022 and believes he will be fighting for points this year.
“Knowing what to expect and how the season is developing is obviously helpful,” said Schumacher, quoted by Speedweek.
“There are always things you can learn, it never stops, and when the rules change so much it also affects the learning curve.
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“I probably know a bit better how to deal with everything, so I also hope it will go a bit better than last year.
“This year, I go to venues knowing what to expect, so that means I don’t have to fight my way through the traffic in FP1 and can straight away start developing the car and set-up.
“It’s just super-beneficial that if you start off with a close set-up then you are very quickly, let’s say in FP2, sure of your set-up.
“Then the whole Saturday becomes so much easier because you can just focus on the points you need for qualifying. So my hope is very high for this year and the expectations are also quite high.”
Mick, who is the son of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher, also spoke about where his optimism comes from.
During the winter break, he was in constant communication with the team. But he was also focused on getting himself ready for the season.
This meant being at his family ranch in Texas and spending time with his loved ones. But it also meant staying fit and continuing his training.
“I was there (at the ranch) for a fortnight and we went horseback riding,” said Schumacher.
“Of course, I also continued training and always kept an eye on this year’s project. I kept in touch with the team and I think we are on track for a successful year.”
