Schumacher Advises Against a Mazepin – Mick Schumacher Lineup at Haas F1 in 2021

A recent development saw both Haas drivers express their intentions to leave the team at the end of the current season. That obviously means that two valuable F1 seats opened up in the paddock.

There has been a lot of speculation about how the American outfit’s pairing would look like for 2021. Of all the names, F2 juniors, Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin lead the charge.

The former has been knocking on the doors of Formula 1 teams for quite some time now. The latter’s story is relatively different, with his father, Dmitry Mazepin, reportedly planning to invest in the Haas team.

Haas having two young drivers for 2021 would not ‘make sense’

That is the opinion of former F1 driver and active pundit Ralf Schumacher. He believes that having let go of two older drivers will not yield the effects that Haas would be looking forward to.

Schumacher was quoted by Sky Sport as saying, “That doesn’t make sense for either of them. That means if the team has to develop further, and I also have two rookies, that’s a combination that is rather difficult from the start.” (translated from Google Translate)

Haas would also take the time to weigh up their options, before deciding about their 2021 drivers’ lineup. Having spent much of their time in the backfield, their priority would be to make their way up the food chain.

And at a time where more experienced drivers like Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg are available, recruiting two rookies effectively translates into a grace risk.

The ideal combination, then, would be to pair one F2 junior with a more solid and well-known option.

Qualifying misery continues for the team at Portimao

It was not the best of Saturdays for Haas, as has been the case for quite some time now. Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen finished P18 and P19, respectively, and were unable to make the cut to Q2.

The former, particularly, has been quite forthcoming about the struggles that he has faced with the car this season. And that has seen them string continually poor results, without a lot of hopes of a points’ finish.

From that perspective, the Haas management will be slightly optimistic about getting in new drivers; a breath of fresh air if not instant points finishes,

Ahead of the 2022 regulations, they would want to get the right combination of cars and drivers that would see them achieve their objectives. However, can they really do the same with two inexperienced drivers straight out of F2?