"I’ll have a lot more of those in the future"- Max Verstappen impressed Mick Schumacher with his 'two-way fights and one-to-one battles'
Mick Schumacher is very impressed with the way Max Verstappen approaches the wheel-to-wheel battles in F1. The German driver hasn't had too many opportunities to battle against Max Verstappen in his career. That is primarily because Haas and Red Bull are more often than not fighting for different places on the grid in a race.
Having said that, one of the instances when the two drivers were able to square up was at the 2022 F1 British GP when Max Verstappen was nursing a damaged Red Bull. In the last couple of laps of the race, the Red Bull driver was able to get his elbows out and keep the position but for Mick Schumacher, that was a learning experience as well.
Mick Schumacher is really proving to everyone why he’s in F1, first the battle with Max Verstappen in Silverstone and now defending against Lewis Hamilton in the sprint. he has so much talent and I’m glad its finally being shown
Speaking to Racefans.net, Mick Schumacher admitted there were quite a few drivers on the grid that would not be racing for long. However, he said Max Verstappen will be there for a few more years and it's interesting to see how he approaches the battles on the track.
“I don’t know how long they will be racing for – I’m sure that Max will be racing for a few more years – and it’s good to know how he approaches some two-way fights and one-to-one battles. It’s great experience and hopefully I’ll have a lot more of those in the future.”
"I think we have a lot to look back at, analyze and understand, so that for Spa we know how the new package works, what we need in terms of set-up and what we need to be quick."
#HaasF1 #HungarianGP https://t.co/FiVzOKrsL0
Mick Schumacher was questioned about Guenther Steiner as well and how the Haas team boss was very blunt with the German after the crash at Monaco and Saudi Arabia. The German agreed that this was something that surely took a bit of adaptation, but it's all part of the learning process in the end.
“It’s obviously something you have to adapt to and you have to understand. But that’s in the past as well. I think we really try to focus on what’s lying ahead. Obviously everybody is their own human and is their own person. Guenther has a very unique style of doing things.
"I think he’s probably one of the people that has very little filter on and speaks their minds. But, at the end, it’s that thing of pressure – maybe sometimes I perform better under pressure than if I don’t have the pressure.
"I don’t know, Maybe it’s a pressure thing? I just need the pressure in order to really get going. It’s something which is actually quite positive, because if you’re in the championship fight, you have pressure."
Max Verstappen should get the recognition for his drive in Hungary: Helmut Marko
Speaking of Max Verstappen and wheel-to-wheel action, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko was complimentary of the driver's maturity this season. He said he hoped that the Red Bull driver got the recognition he deserves amidst all of the Ferrari mishaps. Talking to OE24, Marko said:
“I just want to see that Max’s performance is appreciated enough. After the bad luck in qualifying, he started from tenth place on a track where people don’t expect to have a chance from behind. If he had been standing, he would have just driven away.”
Verstappen leads the championship by 80 points and is the runaway favorite for the title this season.