Haas' future becomes a thriller: Formula 1 fights and advertises for Schumacher

Haas pilot Mick Schumacher is one of the main characters of the Silly Season.

Haas' future becomes a thriller: Formula 1 fights and advertises for Schumacher

Haas pilot Mick Schumacher is one of the main characters of the Silly Season. The Formula 1 race in Belgian Spa-Francorchamps is not the ideal setting for a job application. Sebastian Vettel is still busy promoting his buddy.

It is difficult to find a person in Formula 1 who will not begrudge Mick Schumacher a cockpit for the coming season. "He deserves to be in Formula 1. Not just because of the name. He also has all the skills," said series boss Stefano Domenicali at Sky about the 23-year-old. He landed a starring role in the Silly Season. Everyone asks him how things are going with a cockpit in the coming season. And every team boss with a vacancy is asked if driver Mick Schumacher would be one for him.

The Haas pilot knows he has to commend himself. Spa, his father's "living room," wasn't the ideal place for an application. His team decided to change the engine and transmission, Schumacher had to start from the very back - and at first glance could not gain much from this starting position. On closer inspection, however, Belgium was perhaps worth a trip: At the finish, in 17th place, only three seconds separated him from his teammate Kevin Magnussen, who had started well ahead of him. And that is always the first benchmark.

Sebastian Vettel also eagerly stirred the advertising drum for his buddy. Schumacher is "someone who is constantly learning, and will continue to learn even if many have stopped learning." That, the four-time world champion emphasized, was Schumacher's "absolute strength". Anyone who hires the young man with the famous surname gets an unpretentious, meticulous driver - who, however, does not have his fate completely in his own hands.

"He has improved in the last few races," Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto said of the young driver. But: "It's still too early to make a judgment." The Scuderia decides. Or not? Haas team boss Günther Steiner had assured in Belgium that Ferrari had no right to co-determination with the pilots for the coming year. Binotto, meanwhile, said: "We will sit down with Günther and make a decision." It is important to evaluate Schumacher's overall performance this season.

The 23-year-old's contract expires at the end of December. At the beginning of the season, Schumacher had two serious accidents. He then collected twelve points at Silverstone and Spielberg, but recently went away three times empty-handed. "The car isn't as good as it was at the beginning of the year, so you won't be fifth or sixth, so it's difficult to stand out," said Vettel. The driver carousel, which was rotating at full speed a few weeks ago, has now come to a standstill. Formula 1 is awaiting the verdict of the FIA ​​tribunal in the Oscar Piastri case, which Alpine and McLaren would like to have. Only one will get the 21-year-old Australian. And the other will look around.