Mick Schumacher Q&A: Bahrain Grand Prix

The season is officially beginning this week for Round 1 of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. After setting over 100 laps throughout testing, can you tell us how the VF-22 feels to drive and the main differences to last season?

“The season has definitely begun. I’ve been fortunate to get some laps in during testing, although we didn’t really get the full opportunity to try everything nonetheless, the car feels good. There are a huge number of differences to how this car feels compared to last year, especially coming back to this track and having driven here, you really feel them. It’s very positive, I’m happy and ready to bring on the season.”

The Bahrain Grand Prix will herald a new era of racing for Formula 1, what are your targets and where can Haas capitalize on its rivals? 

“Targets are difficult to set right now. Obviously, we want to be able to put everything together that we’ve learned over the last few days and put it into a good package for the start of the season. In terms of where we stack against the rest of the grid, it’s very hard to say. I think we’re in a good space where we’re feeling positive about many things and hopefully, we’ll be able to show everyone we’ve made the right steps and the car is in a better place than we were last year, and I don’t think that’s awfully difficult to achieve.”

A lot has happened since Haas F1 Team last competed at the Bahrain International Circuit, how do you feel after a full season of racing and being involved in the development of the VF-22?

“A lot has changed since my first race with the team. First and foremost, the way I feel in the team is great, I feel super comfortable and really happy and ready to take on this new challenge of the VF-22. It’s been great to be a part of the development of it and to see it now in one piece and be able to drive it and feel all the hard work that has been put in by the whole team. Seeing it come to life is quite special. To see it’s felt quite positive has been great.”

You have a new team-mate in Kevin, someone that is no stranger to the team. How have your first days of working together been and what do you think Kevin will bring to the team and your own development? 

“It’s been a thrilling way for Kevin to come back. It’s a great chance for me to have him in the team as I can learn from him. The feeling within the team is great because they know him so well. He spent four years with them and he’s only been away for one year which isn’t a huge amount of time. I’m sure he’ll get back into the groove quickly and hopefully we can benefit from each other.” 

We’ve seen ‘Inspector Mick’ appear throughout the test – what’s caught your eye and what do you make of the many ways that the regulations have been interpreted? 

“I think there were a lot of different interpretations of how the cars have been built, especially for this year. It’s super interesting to see what direction different teams have decided to go down and who will get it right and who will get it wrong. I would imagine that in the first five races we’ll see a lot of changes on a lot of the cars – maybe adapting, changing – or simply just finding a revolutionary fit again so it will be very interesting to keep an eye out and have a look at also what we can do to go quicker.”

The team has stayed out between the test and the race. Have you had any time to relax and have fun away from the track? 

“We did manage to get some time off to relax and as a team it’s really nice to be able to spend time together and go indoor skydiving or simply going to the track and for me just to help them – as much as I can – to build the car. There are definitely a lot of opportunities that I like to take to be a part of the team and get to know everyone better and build a stronger working relationship.”