’16 Sounds Better Than It Is’: Mick Schumacher Self-Critical After His F1 Debut

All the eyes of the F1 community were on Mick Schumacher last weekend. Even if he was just making his senior debut with a backmarker, fans were keen to see how he held himself in the face of pressure. And he had a solid outing as he brought the car back home. However, the German is not completely content with his performance.

Guenther Steiner would have wanted his rookie drivers to gain some experience behind the cockpit and finish the race. While his teammate, Nikita Mazepin, failed, he achieved that as he crossed the finish line in 16th place.

Though, he nearly joined his Haas teammate in retirement as he spun off the track. But he was able to keep the engine running and rejoin the race.

“I would say I’m 90 percent satisfied with my performance. The remaining ten annoys me because I made a mistake when restarting and spun. Fortunately, the car remained intact. After that, I was able to expand my wealth of experience,” said Mick Schumacher after his debut.

“Rank 16 sounds better than it is. Because the fact is – we were the last to cross the finish line. But apart from my lathe operator, we did everything right. I’m learning more about this car with every lap.”

Mick Schumacher learning more about the tires after his spin

In this current era of F1, understanding the tires is almost as important as pure driving skills. It is important to keep the compounds at optimum temperatures all the time. If they are too hot, you run the risk of damaging them too early.

And if they are too cold, you won’t find much grip on the track. That’s what happened to Mick as he got too enthusiastic on the throttle when his tires were cold –

“I have to understand better how the tires react when they are not up to temperature. The lathe happened to me because the rollers were not warm enough… But I will learn a lesson from this.”

There is a long way to go for Mick Schumacher. He’s overpowering his teammate in all the departments as of now. Hopefully, the season ahead brings him some points finishes.

Read More – Here’s All to Know About the Michael Schumacher Estate, Where Mick Grew up as He Prepares to Enter F1