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via Reuters

via Reuters

It’s another day at F1 town where Guenther Steiner takes a shot at someone! This time, the man at the other end of the gun is Ralf Schumacher. Not just as the brother of the legendary Formula 1 racer Michael Schumacher, Ralf has earned his own footing in motorsports for his tenure as an F1 racer. The German has won 6 Grand Prix in his career while racing for Jordan, Williams, and then Toyota. Currently, he is an F1 pundit and has some strong opinions on Alpine letting his nephew Mick Schumacher re-enter the pinnacle of motorsports.

After winning the F2 Championship, Mick Schumacher debuted for Haas in 2021. However, the son of F1’s 7-time World Champion could never find enough success to impress his boss, Guenther Steiner. He amassed a total of 12 Championship points in Formula 1, and seeing no progress, Steiner decided to oust him before the ’23 season. As of now, Mick Schumacher contests in the World Endurance Championship for Alpine. And since Esteban Ocon is leaving the Enstone outfit next season, the F1 counterpart of Alpine has been eyeing to sign Mick up for Ocon’s place.

However, Guenther Steiner is still not Mick’s biggest fan, and he has let that be known. And coming to the rescue of his nephew, Ralf Schumacher has criticized Steiner for his mistreatment of Mick. At one point, he had said, “Our good friend Günther Steiner. I don’t understand these senseless rants. I’m starting to get the feeling that he wants to prevent [a return]. Because if Mick returns successfully, Steiner would have to go through the dust.”

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via Imago

Now, Steiner has taken a swipe at Ralf Schumacher in one of his interviews. He talked to the ‘Red Flag Podcast’ hosts about who might possibly get the open seat at Alpine. He said, “So, who’s available? I mean, the KMag’s available, well, they’ve got Jack Doohan, they got Schumacher Junior. Won’t touch that. Because, otherwise, I get abused again, you know.

Even though Guenther Steiner has had the last laugh in his feud with Ralf Schumacher, with his latest comment, there’s more to the story. Toto Wolff has backed Ralf’s claim about Steiner mistreating Mick. So, what did he say?

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Toto Wolff wishes Michael Schumacher helped Mick at Haas

Michael Schumacher has been away from the spotlight ever since his 2013 skiing accident. As per some rumors, he is bedridden, in fact. And even when his son Mick made his F1 debut, Michael could never be the proud father standing in the Haas pits cheering on him. While Mick’s short stint at the North Caroline-based team ended with Steiner showing him the door, Mercedes’ Toto Wolff picked Mick as his reserve racer.

via Reuters

Wolff has always appreciated whatever Mick has done for Mercedes in his reserve role. And he has also been critical of Haas’ treatment of Mick Schumacher’s talent. The Austrian Team Principal had said, “I claim that if Michael had accompanied his son during the two Haas years, Steiner would not have dared to treat Mick like that!

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So, Guenther Steiner has faced criticism from both Ralf Schumacher and Toto Wolff for mistreating Mick Schumacher. But Alpine can undo the unfair experience that Mick had had by offering a second chance to the 25-year-old. Do you think the German prodigy will take the spot at the Enstone seat or will the scales tip in favor of Jack Doohan?