The two Germans were heard complaining on the team radio and there might be some friction between them for some time.
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While fans fawned over the Ferrari vs Red Bull battle at the 2022 Miami Grand Prix, there was one rather heartbreaking incident towards the back of the pack that involved two good friends. Winning a race for Max Verstappen, by this point, is no big deal. The Dutchman has done it time and again and although Charles Leclerc did give him a fair run for his money towards the end, the reigning world champion held on and secured the victory. The story, however, is different for Haas driver Mick Schumacher. Son of the legendary Michael Schumacher, Mick has not scored a single point so far in his Formula One career. When the 2022 season began, the young German had visibly improved and by some margin. At Miami, Mick seemed set to take his first points of the season when he was cruising in P9. But it was not meant to be. With only a few laps to go, the German crashed and eventually finished in P15. The man who caused the crash? Mick’s good friend and former F1 world champion, Sebastian Vettel.
Before McLaren’s Lando Norris’ crash on lap 41, Mick was well outside the points and did not look likely to score any on the day. However, Norris’ crash with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly resulted in a safety car that would reshuffle the pack and see the young Haas driver move up to P9. The race eventually restarted on lap 47 and while fans and experts were fixated on the battle between Leclerc and Verstappen, and Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez, few took notice of Mick Schumacher driving his heart out for his very first points finish in F1.
With just three laps to go, Mick would have believed that he could finally do it. Scoring points in a Haas and that too at a brand new circuit? All those comparisons with his dad, all those times he has probably had to hear that he would never be as good, all those negative comments aimed towards him over the course of last year would have simply blown away, at least for the time being.
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What fate had in store for him instead was tragedy. On lap 54 of 57, Mick’s closest friend on the grid and perhaps someone he even considers a father figure, Sebastian Vettel of Aston Martin, inadvertently crashed into him. Not only did it cost Mick his very first points finish, it also ended Vettel’s race. The two Germans were heard complaining on the team radio and there might be some friction between the two for a while.
Mick, however, did show a lot of heart when he decided to finish the race instead of retiring. With a broken front wing, Schumacher’s Haas came into the pit lane, got a new front wing attached, and finished the race in P15. That was absolutely brilliant. An incident like that would have crushed anybody’s spirit but to find the courage and heart to finish the race despite that was indeed monumental and commendable. He might not be as good as his dad just yet, but Mick Schumacher has just as much of a fighting spirit as him.
