Schumacher: Bahrain F1 cold tyre error will stay with me for a while

The Haas driver spun off exiting Turn 4 on the safety car restart early into the Bahrain Grand Prix, moments after fellow rookie and team-mate Nikita Mazepin suffered a similar spin on the opening lap at Turn 3 which ended the Russian’s race.

The spin dropped the 2020 Formula 2 champion off the back of the pack but he recovered to produce a largely trouble-free race to finish in 16th place, the last of the runners after retirements for Mazepin, Fernando Alonso, Nicholas Latifi and Pierre Gasly.

Reflecting on his early off after the race, Schumacher was downbeat about his spin but was adamant he will learn from his mistake in his rookie campaign in F1.

“I made a mistake in Turn 4 after the safety car restart. Once the tyres are not in the window, the grip was very low, and that’s just something I have to understand better, that’s something I have to learn,” Schumacher said after the race.

“I obviously made a mistake now and that’s something I will keep with me for a very long time and I will try to understand why and then will move on from there and learn from it.”

 

Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images

Despite his disappointment at his spin, Schumacher took comfort from achieving a “lifelong dream” in reaching F1 and following in the footsteps of his father Michael.

“I think in general I should say I’m happy. Obviously it’s been a lifelong dream to be here,” he said.

“I’m a bit gutted about the mistake obviously in Turn 4 at the restart. I just got a snap and it happened so quickly that the car was straightaway away and then I spun. Nevertheless, I mean 16th obviously sounds better than it is, obviously we were the last car, but nevertheless I think we did everything we should.

“We went through all the things we wanted to try and I feel definitely more understanding for the car, which obviously I can carry through to the next weekend.”

While Mazepin failed to finish, Schumacher was beaten by fellow F1 rookie Yuki Tsunoda who pulled off an impressive final-lap overtake on Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll to grab ninth place for AlphaTauri.