Steiner: Firing riders is annoying

Günther Steiner admits that he felt no joy when he decided to end his collaboration with Mick Schumacher, but it was a necessary measure.

Haas F1 said goodbye to the son of a seven-time world champion after two seasons: Mick was often involved in accidents, which cost Haas dearly, and earned points in just two Grands Prix. Now his place in the American team was taken by Niko Hulkenberg.

Steiner’s attitude towards Mick is eloquently illustrated by an episode of the Netflix docuseries in which a Haas F1 executive responded to Mick’s complaints that his car’s brakes weren’t working properly.

“Is he worried about overheating brakes? Yes, it goes so slow it doesn’t need any brakes at all! exclaimed Steiner.

In an interview with the UK edition of iNews he explained: “Firing riders is a bad experience, but you just have to act professionally. I just invited him to talk and explained that the team needs an experienced rider to move forward. This is part of our job.

As you can imagine, dealing with Schumacher is not easy. He grew up in special circumstances, so he was dissatisfied. I would like to say this: he believes that he is destined for a special fate. He’s a smart kid, he had two years, but we didn’t get what we wanted. All the effort was in vain, for it is no use whipping an exhausted horse. And I had to make certain changes.

Steiner also talked about the atmosphere in the team, because since this year Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg play for Haas, who once had far from the best relationship after several incidents on the circuits.

“Riders shouldn’t be buddies, because that can sometimes backfire,” said the Italian. “They have to compete with each other, but this competition has to be respectful.”