Schumacher reveals Haas F1 seat fit challenges

Due to coronavirus restrictions imposed by the British government, all arrivals from Switzerland, where Schumacher lives, have to undergo a mandatory period of self isolation and conduct two COVID tests.

The demand was what prompted Fernando Alonso to skip any involvement in the Alpine launch and shakedown earlier this week, but Schumacher had no choice but to go through it so he could get on with his F1 2021 preparations.

Speaking on Thursday following the reveal of the Haas VF-21, Schumacher explained that the situation was quite hard to manage, but it was worth going through the process.

“Obviously, it hasn't been easy as travelling to England has been very restricted,” he explained. “It was very difficult for me to get my seat fit done.

“We had a plan, and then the rules changed, and I had to self quarantine. So I had to find a spot where I could give up 10 days basically to give myself the room to go to the team for one and a half days, which is really not a lot for seven days of quarantining.

Haas VF-21

Photo by: Haas F1 Team

“So I arrived in England in one spot and just basically stayed there for the amount of time that was given to me. And, after my results came all negative back to me after the days we were assigned to, I was able to go to the team.”

Schumacher said that he still expected more work needed to be done in getting himself fully comfortable in the Haas cockpit, but that would now have to wait until pre-season testing in Bahrain.

“Obviously, the seat fit was a very long day,” he said. “We started I think, at eight o'clock in the morning, and then we finished at 10:30pm. But it was worth it. We managed to get a seat done, which was really good.

“It feels good on the outside obviously. A seat is always very special, but it can feel very good when you're stationary and the moment you drive, it feels crap.

“So it's something we'll just have to figure out on track. And after that, we'll do modifications. We have to, but I'm pretty sure I've got a good seat. And now it is all about trying and perfect it.”