Mick Schumacher was left seeking answers from Haas as to why the team did not switch their two cars around in the Austrian Grand Prix Sprint race. Schumacher, fresh from scoring his first-ever F1 points at Silverstone, spent most of Saturday's Sprint at the Red Bull Ring stuck behind teammate Kevin Magnussen. Despite his best defensive efforts, the recovering Red Bull and Mercedes machines of Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton found a way past Schumacher to deny him another points finish. Under the revised Sprint points system, the top eight finishers now score points, but Hamilton's pass resigned Schumacher to ninth.
Schumacher questions Haas' approach during the F1 Sprint
After the race, the German cut a frustrated figure, lamenting why Haas did not order Magnussen to move aside and give him a shot at attacking Alpine's Esteban Ocon. Speaking to media, including RacingNews365.com , Schumacher said he "enjoyed" the battle with Hamilton, but added: "In some ways, it probably wasn't quite necessary, because I think I had more pace to be in front. "It's something to have a look at, maybe for my understanding, why we didn't switch positions. "I felt like I probably could have attacked Esteban ahead."
Schumacher: I was saving Magnussen's butt
Schumacher was able to hold off Hamilton for some 10 laps before ultimately accepting defeat to the seven-time World Champion. Asked if he was hoping for Magnussen to drop back and help him gain DRS, Schumacher added: "In some ways I was saving his butt from the attack of Lewis. "I was actually hoping that he would drop back, which then did not happen, so that kind of left me vulnerable, with no DRS." He summed up: "It's quite incredible to be fighting with a Mercedes and a Red Bull, [but] again, I think there was more in it."
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