Guenther Steiner's 'Mick Schumacher' comments don't go down well with Ralf Schumacher, Timo Glock
Guenther Steiner's recent comments on Mick Schumacher did not go well with Ralf Schumacher, the latter's uncle. Citing this, Ralf informed to step back from his media duty with German media RTL, as he no longer wants to work with Steiner.
Steiner's criticism of the former Haas driver is not new. Following the German driver's poor run of form in both his F1 years, Steiner showed him the exit door at the end of 2022. Following this, the former Haas boss faced enormous criticism.
Ralf Schumacher criticized Steiner at every possible opportunity over his treatment of his nephew, Mick. However, Steiner's days at Haas also ended after Gene Haas, the owner of the American outfit, reportedly sacked the veteran engineer from his team principal role last season.
Following this, Steiner joined as an expert in Germany's RTL, alongside Ralf Schumacher. However, the former Haas boss' recent comments made Ralf change his mind and return some digs about the team's recent improved performances. Speaking about this to F1insider.com, Ralf Schumacher said:
"I don’t understand these senseless sideswipes. I’m slowly getting the feeling that he wants to prevent it [Mick returning to F1]. RTL knows my opinion, and so does Mr Steiner. There will be no more joint appearances in front of the camera. In Bahrain, I still subordinated myself to the common cause, but now that is no longer possible. I am consistent in this regard.”
Besides him, former F1 driver turned pundit Timo Glock also slammed Guenther Steiner over his statements and mentioned Haas' condition under Komatsu. He said to Formel1:
"One should stop kicking him again and again. What is the point of it? He should clean up his own backyard. When you look at Guenther Steiner’s record as team boss, you can doubt it, you have to doubt it. Because at the moment the Haas team is doing a very, very good job without him."
What did Guenther Steiner say about Mick Schumacher?
In a recent interview with The Red Flags Podcast, Guenther Steiner shared a negative response to Mick Schumacher. When asked who Alpine should sign as Esteban Ocon's replacement, Steiner said "not" Mick Schumacher.
Given the 25-year-old is currently competing with the Alpine team in the World Endurance Racing, there could have been an outside chance of Mick's F1 return.
However, Guenther Steiner's latest comment not only landed him in controversy but also put his RTL future in a dilemma. All in all, it will be interesting to see if Alpine decides to go for Mick Schumacher as Ocon's replacement next year.