“When a Michael Schumacher talks to a team boss, that's another house number”: Franz Tost on Mick Schumacher
AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost believes that if Guenther Steiner had to deal with Michael Schumacher about his son Mick's future, the outcome would have been different.
Mick Schumacher raced for the Haas F1 team for two in 2021 and 2022. However, he was unceremoniously dropped by the American team at the end of the season in favor of fellow German Nico Hulkenberg. This is despite him showcasing some upturn in form late in his stint.
Speaking to Sport1, Tost said:
"He deserves a place in Formula 1. I am of the same opinion as his uncle Ralf: If his father had been by his side, Mick would still be one hundred percent still in Formula 1. Because of Michael's personality alone, everything would have gone differently. I don't want to criticize Mick's environment, but when a Michael Schumacher talks to a team boss, that's another house number."
He added:
"Fortunately, he is now the third driver at Mercedes. He just has to keep working hard and hope that an opportunity arises - and then take advantage of it. I am convinced that he will do the same."
Tost also added that he would have liked to work with the young Schumacher, adding:
"It is a pity that he is not there [Haas] in the decisive third year. I would have liked to work with him, but he was always a Ferrari Academy driver and did not come into focus with us."
"I claim that if Michael Schumacher had accompanied his son; Steiner would not have dared to treat Mick like that!" - Mercedes team boss
Toto Wolff also agreed that if Michael Schumacher had been by his son's side, the treatment he got from Steiner would have been different.
As per Sky Sports, he said:
"I'm looking out for the little one. I can only say that his parents did nothing wrong in bringing him up. And I claim that if Michael had accompanied his son during the two Haas years, Steiner would not have dared to treat Mick like that!"
In response, Steiner said:
"What I have to say is, if my father would have been around Toto wouldn't have said the things he said. It wasn't easy, it wasn't easy to manage that one because there was a lot of pressure from outside because of his last name."
It would have been fascinating to see if Mick Schumacher would still be on the grid if his father Michael Schumacher had accompanied him in F1.