Mick Schumacher does not believe that putting extra pressure on himself was a factor in his qualifying crash over the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend. The German had progressed into Q2 during the session, but suffered a huge shunt after losing the rear of his car going into Turn 12 on the high-speed Jeddah Corniche Circuit. After being taken to the Medical Centre, Schumacher was flown to a nearby hospital for further checks, but was later released. He issued an update to fans on social media that night, stating that he was "okay". However, Haas decided not to run Schumacher in Sunday's race, not only due to the unknowns over how he might be feeling, but also to manage components on the car in preparation for the upcoming Australian Grand Prix.
Schumacher explains what might have caused crash
Since the accident, Schumacher has given a further insight into what might have been the cause. When asked whether he had been putting himself under too much pressure to extract the limit from the car on his lap, the driver denied that this was the case, and explained that he was simply pushing as much as he could. "No. I think, if you want to move up into Q3, we're just around the cut-off, so you have to push," Schumacher told media including RacingNews365.com . "That's what I was doing. The winds were changing over the day [on Saturday] and maybe that played a role [in] it."
Improvements to safety praised by Schumacher
Schumacher has suffered other incidents whilst competing in junior categories but, when questioned on whether his crash in Saudi Arabia was the biggest he had experienced, he admitted that the key difference is the speed in F1. However, the German has praised improvements in safety in the sport. "I think the speeds are a bit different," Schumacher said. "Luckily, the cars can be - because the speeds are so high - safe. I think the percentage of improvement on safety is around 300 percent, compared to last year, so that rate of improvement is crazy." Schumacher also says that he was able to ready himself for the incident when he knew what was going to happen. "Let's say like this - once I lost the rear, I knew what was coming, so I could prepare," the Haas driver added.
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