Mick Schumacher was the negative protagonist of Friday’s day at the 2022 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, where the German driver suffered a totally avoidable accident when the stopwatch had already reached zero in the first free practice of the weekend.
In the closing minutes of FP1, Mick Schumacher took to the track to take advantage of the opportunity the FIA gives teams to test the start procedure on the finish straight after the session was over, but things went awry a few meters later.
The young German driver carried out this test successfully, but on his way back to the pits he lost control of his Haas VF-22 and went straight into the protections of the Japanese track, destroying his car and thus ending his practice day.
After the incident, Mick Schumacher explained what happened and assured that he would not feel more pressure for the simple fact of having suffered an accident: “No, I don’t think so. I mean, pressure is something I have had to deal with for quite some time I would say even my whole life. So I don’t care about that.”
“I’m sure it was such a big loss in temperature from the start of the session,” he told Motorsport.com, when asked if tire cooling had been the main reason for the crash.
“I think it was because we had a car in front of us that sprayed us a lot, so I couldn’t see very well where to put the car.
“And also, we were trying to learn, discovering the track itself, obviously it’s my first time here, so I was trying to see where the puddles are, because that’s something that’s different at each circuit, and unfortunately here the water seems to accumulate. in specific areas.
“I mean, if I had gotten past that two meters further, I would have probably done a 360 spin and kept going. But hey, all things happen for a reason. And I don’t know what the reason is in this case, but maybe! I’ll know in 10 years!” concluded Mick Schumacher.
After hearing the words of his driver, Gunther Steiner , director of the Haas F1 Team, was very frustrated and angry about an accident that he considered quite avoidable.
” There is nothing positive in that accident ,” Steiner told Motorsport.com. “You’re a racing driver, and you know when there’s spray you can’t see well, and before there was water.”
“This job is not easy, but you know, in the end it was pilot error . I mean, yeah, there was spray, there was water, but we all knew that.”
In reference to whether he had already been able to speak to Mick after the incident at the Suzuka track, Steiner replied very succinctly and forcefully: “Sometimes less is more. I didn’t speak to him, so less is more .”
At this time, Mick Schumacher still does not know if he will continue in the ranks of the American team in 2023 and, although the latest rumors suggested that both parties were negotiating a possible renewal, that accident will surely not help much to decide his future.
