Sebastian Vettel has praised Mick Schumacher for how he has performed in his debut season in Formula 1. Schumacher did not have the easiest start to his F1 career, with Haas making the decision not to develop their 2021 car in order to focus on preparing for the new regulations being introduced in 2022. This meant that Schumacher and teammate Nikita Mazepin often found themselves at the back of the field, but Vettel believes that his countryman and friend has done an "incredible job". "Well, I think it's difficult to judge, because the car has been so far off," Vettel told media, including RacingNews365.com . "But for those who were looking and looking closely - obviously I've been following - and yes, I think he did an incredible job with such a poor car. "To reach qualifying segment two a couple of times, to have strong showings in the race, fight some of the other cars that are much faster, stick with the cars ahead that are supposed to be much faster - that's a great effort."
Schumacher provides "huge lift" to the team
As well his on-track showings, Vettel has also been impressed by how Schumacher has conducted himself in the paddock and within the Haas squad. "He's been a huge lift for the entire team," Vettel explained. "I think the offset from the start of the season for that team was poor because they had no development and they were far behind. "But I think if you look throughout the year, Mick's been very happy and enthusiastic and happy to put work in. He's been one of the first ones, if not the first one, every single day to come to the paddock and one of the latest ones to leave." Schumacher, like teammate Mazepin, finished the season without any points, with his best result being a P12 in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Vettel hopes that Schumacher may be able to show even more of what he can do in 2022. "He's shown huge interest in trying to push the team along," the Aston Martin driver said. "So apart from the job on track that he did, apart from some maybe small mistakes that happen in your first year, I think he's done a great job. "I really wish he gets a much better car next year to show what he's able to do." As well as racing each other in F1 next season, Vettel and Schumacher will team up to represent Germany at the 2022 Race of Champions event .
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