Schumacher: Fighting Hamilton will help me ‘not be afraid’ against F1 rivals
Mick Schumacher believes his fights against Lewis Hamilton over the Austria weekend will help him “not be afraid” battling other Formula 1 rivals on-track, and that “everybody is human.”
After scoring his maiden F1 points by finishing eighth in the British Grand Prix one week earlier, Schumacher went two places better with sixth in Austria on Sunday.
The German driver fought against Hamilton through Saturday’s 24-lap sprint race, and found himself scrapping with the Mercedes driver once again during the opening stages of the grand prix on Sunday.
Although Hamilton ultimately pulled clear to finish fourth, Schumacher drove an error-free race to take sixth for Haas, finishing two places clear of team-mate Kevin Magnussen who struggled with a misfire.
Asked what he had learned across his fights with Hamilton in Austria, Schumacher replied: “The main thing that I learned is everybody is human and everybody makes mistakes.
“Everybody is under pressure [and] sometimes it gets to a point where they do make mistakes.
“So, that’s important for me to know that, and not be afraid of fighting anybody out there.”
Schumacher and Magnussen have both scored in back-to-back races, helping lift Haas up to seventh in the constructors’ standings ahead of AlphaTauri and Aston Martin.
Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-22, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13, Mick Schumacher, Haas VF-22
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
This comes despite the team’s lack of a major upgrade package for its VF-22 car this year, which is only due to arrive for the Hungarian Grand Prix at the end of the month.
Schumacher called the uplift in form a “refreshing change” for Haas, but felt his breakthrough points finishes “could have come a lot earlier” in his F1 career.
“We’ve shown the potential that the cars have, and also we’ve shown the potential the drivers have,” Schumacher said.
“We know what we need for our car to be quick. We had a strong car at the beginning of the year, obviously some people brought updates.
"We maybe lost our way in terms of set-up a bit, but then it came back to a very good set-up, and other people maybe struggled with their package.
“So, all that completes the result we saw today.”
Related video
Ex-F1 boss Ecclestone charged with fraud over £400m of overseas assets
Red Bull baffled by Verstappen's "strange" Austria F1 tyre deg
Has Alonso made the right choice gambling on Aston Martin F1?
Has Alonso made the right choice gambling on Aston Martin F1? Has Alonso made the right choice gambling on Aston Martin F1?
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
How ‘demanding’ Alonso has started life with Aston Martin
How ‘demanding’ Alonso has started life with Aston Martin How ‘demanding’ Alonso has started life with Aston Martin
Espargaro: MotoGP "needs to think about" better managing hotter races
Espargaro: MotoGP "needs to think about" better managing hotter races Espargaro: MotoGP "needs to think about" better managing hotter races
The fans that offer a ray of light in an increasingly partisan F1
The fans that offer a ray of light in an increasingly partisan F1 The fans that offer a ray of light in an increasingly partisan F1
Russell has "zero hard feelings" about Mercedes F1 team orders
Russell has "zero hard feelings" about Mercedes F1 team orders Russell has "zero hard feelings" about Mercedes F1 team orders
Aston Martin gives Jessica Hawkins first full F1 test outing
Aston Martin gives Jessica Hawkins first full F1 test outing Aston Martin gives Jessica Hawkins first full F1 test outing
The fans that offer a ray of light in an increasingly partisan F1
The fans that offer a ray of light in an increasingly partisan F1 The fans that offer a ray of light in an increasingly partisan F1
Japanese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023
Japanese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023 Japanese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023
How Verstappen’s crushing Japanese GP win showed Singapore was a blip
How Verstappen’s crushing Japanese GP win showed Singapore was a blip How Verstappen’s crushing Japanese GP win showed Singapore was a blip
Why the reality of F1 engineering debriefs isn't what Drive to Survive makes out
Why the reality of F1 engineering debriefs isn't what Drive to Survive makes out Why the reality of F1 engineering debriefs isn't what Drive to Survive makes out
How Tsunoda has eliminated a crucial F1 limitation
How Tsunoda has eliminated a crucial F1 limitation How Tsunoda has eliminated a crucial F1 limitation
How McLaren has revamped its F1 team to become a contender again
How McLaren has revamped its F1 team to become a contender again How McLaren has revamped its F1 team to become a contender again
Why precedent doesn’t favour Massa’s F1 legal challenge
Why precedent doesn’t favour Massa’s F1 legal challenge Why precedent doesn’t favour Massa’s F1 legal challenge
Why Sainz’s Singapore F1 success was not just about DRS genius
Why Sainz’s Singapore F1 success was not just about DRS genius Why Sainz’s Singapore F1 success was not just about DRS genius
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.