Haas Formula 1 Team Principal Guenther Steiner has revealed that talks around extending Mick Schumacher's stay with the team have yet to begin. Schumacher is in his second F1 season, after stepping up from Formula 2 as the reigning champion for a rookie campaign in 2021 in an uncompetitive car. It has been a mixed season for Schumacher in 2022, with two big crashes in Saudi Arabia and Monaco costing the team millions in repair damage while he scored his first points in Great Britain, following up in Austria next time out. However, Schumacher has also struggled to match teammate Kevin Magnussen at times, with his F1 future not assured as his contract is up at the end of the current season. And his boss Steiner has admitted that contract extension talks are yet to open between the parties.
Haas "want to see what's happening" over Schumacher F1 future
Speaking exclusively on the latest RacingNews365.com podcast to host Michael Butterworth and Editorial Director Dieter Rencken, Steiner explained that recent activity in the F1 driver market hadn't affected Haas, given Schumacher was briefly linked to the vacant Aston Martin seat upon Sebastian Vettel's retirement. "I don't really know what Mick has done, and we have not spoken about a drive for next year with Mick," said Steiner. "He hasn't spoken to us and we haven't spoken to him – we want to see what's happening. "This Aston Martin thing happened very quickly and so nobody had time to really think about it, but there were rumours he [Schumacher] could replace Vettel, but that went away pretty quick. "We didn't look at what other people were doing." Steiner also confirmed that any decision over Schumacher's future with the team would be made jointly with Ferrari and that there is "nothing unilateral" on either side. He suggested a time-frame of after the European races – the final one being the Italian Grand Prix on 11 September – for a final decision.
Steiner surprised by Oscar Piastri Alpine situation
Steiner admitted on the podcast that he was surprised about the current Oscar Piastri standoff with Alpine as they had "brought him up" to the verge of F1. "It was an open secret that Fernando was talking to Aston Martin when Vettel left, and I wasn't that surprised by that," explained Steiner. "Piastri was seen as an 'Alpine driver' in my opinion, they brought him up, brought him to this level and helped him, so I thought for sure he'd be driving there in F1 after Fernando left. "I think there's more behind it, but I don't have any details of it." Steiner also refused to be drawn on the ongoing legal battle between Haas and former driver Nikita Mazepin – "we are working on it and we will solve it" – who was sacked in pre-season after Russia invaded Ukraine and amid his family's links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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