"He's better than people think"- Sebastian Vettel feels Mick Schumacher deserves an F1 cockpit after showing 'good progress' lately
Mick Schumacher is facing a lot of uncertainty regarding his place in Formula 1 for 2023. Sebastian Vettel, who has mentored Mick since his debut in F1, is urging teams not to let him go without a seat.
The German's contract with Haas is expiring at the end of the 2022 F1 season with no further talks on any extension. His relationship with Ferrari is also reportedly ending. Hence, he will have no support from Scuderia for a seat, and they have closed their doors for him till at least 2025.
Great pace this weekend! We‘ll get another shot at it soon. Let‘s go @HaasF1Team https://t.co/Gqdt2wTriL
Vettel believes Mick deserves a spot and thinks it will be a big mistake if no team signs him for 2023. He said:
"I hope it won't happen, I think he deserves a cockpit."
Vettel further emphasized:
"He's better than people think. He made good progress last year, which many people couldn't see. Unfortunately, because the car was so bad, it didn't show."
Mick Schumacher's performances and results have not helped his case for a place on the grid. He has not yet delivered as per expectations and has committed too many mistakes race after race. He made blunders at the Saudi Arabian GP, Monaco GP, and Miami GP. He earned his first points of the season a couple of months ago at the British Grand Prix and has only scored twice.
“I had a lot of fun even though I was at the wrong end of the field - battling with Sebastian is always great.”
#HaasF1 #DutchGP https://t.co/e0HpXdKzQP
"I think he made up for it (the series of errors) with a few strong races and you could see his speed and talent."
According to Vettel, Mick's car was also to blame and was not up to the mark. He is also convinced that Schumacher Jr. has made up for these errors, bounced back, and produced better results. He says not everyone is able to acknowledge his improvement or see past his previous mistakes, and that Mick Schumacher is full of the talent required.
Mick Schumacher being mum about his future
When asked about his contract and future ahead of the Dutch GP, Schumacher chose to dodge the question. He said:
“What is being discussed behind the scenes between us is something I’d rather keep between us. That’s contractual matters which I can’t go into detail with.”
He has three competitors for his seat at Haas for next season, including eight-time Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo and former Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi. It is also rumored that Mick is eyeing the next vacant Alpine seat but has competition for that as well from Daniel Ricciardo and Pierre Gasly. However, it seems like Mick should be able to handle that as he said:
“Hopefully we’ll be able to manage that and, what the future holds. I’m sure that I’ll share it as soon as I know.”
Let's see if the words of the four-time world champion have an effect on the F1 teams to pick Mick as their driver for the 2023 season.