Critics 'should take more time' before judging - Schumacher
Haas F1 Team driver Mick Schumacher has complained that the media is far too quick to leap to judgement about how well or otherwise new drivers are doing when they first arrive in Formula 1.
Schumacher himself made his debut with Haas at the beginning of the 2021 season, but an uncompetitive car meant that neither he nor his fellow rookie team mate Nikita Mazepin scored any points all year.
While Mazepin's successor Kevin Magnussen finished in the top ten in his first two races back at Haas in the much-improved VF-22, Schumacher suffered major high profile crashes in Saudi Arabia and Monaco.
That led to public criticism from team boss Guenther Steiner. The negative comments in the media only grew as Schumacher proved unable to score points in the first nine races, leading many to wonder if he would be dropped by the team.
But eighth place At Silverstone finally put some points on the board, and was followed by sixth place at Spielberg as the 23-year-old German finally seemed to have rediscovered some of the form that saw him claim the 2020 Formula 2 title.
"I would appreciate if people would, you know, maybe take more time to actually build up facts," he told Motorsport.com when asked how he felt about being the subject of so many scathing reviews during those earlier races.
"People are kind of focused on building headlines in a way," he continued. "I understand that people need to make money and they need to do some stuff."
While some of the setbacks have been very public - such as Schumacher's collision with Sebastian Vettel in Miami - others have been less evident on the outside, such as the suspension problems that held him up in Spain.
"I don't really reflect on those again, or go back to those," Schumacher stated about that problem period. "I know what I'm able to do. I know what I'm worth.
"I just try to do my best, and normally the best that I can do should be enough to perform well.
"In each championship that I've competed in in junior categories, I was able to be the second or first, so I don't see any reason why I shouldn't be able to do that in Formula 1."
Schumacher said his big accident at Monaco which literally tore his car in two had been a turning point for him.
"I knew that I had to do something to improve my performance," he acknowledged. "I think I had to reflect on everything that had happened, but also on why I'm here in Formula 1.
"A big part of that is because I love the sport, and so I kind of really just focused on that and said okay, look, I do this because I love it. And if I don't want to do it, I don't have to do it.
©Haas
"That really kind of just helped me to come back into a positive place. Essentially, I also then managed to do a good job."
While he didn't extend his points run in the final two races before the summer break in France and Hungary, Schumacher is happy that he's continuing to make good progress.
"Looking back on what we had in those [first] races, compared to what we've achieved today in terms of setup, I think we're really, really happy."
Schumacher's current contract with Haas runs out at the end of the current season and there have been rumours that Steiner has put negotiations on hold.
He had looked to be on a path to Ferrari via Alfa Romeo, with Aston Martin also seen as a possibility after Vettel confirmed his retirement.
But with Fernando Alonso taking the latter spot, and Zhou Guanyu doing a good job at Hinwil and Théo Pourchaire waiting in the wings as well, those routes are looking increasingly blocked.
It puts the pressure on Schumacher to continue his uptick in performance and deliver an impressive points haul in the nine races remaining in 2022 to keep his current race seat for another season.
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