Haas’ Mick Schumacher would have liked to have a go at some points at the end of the Italian Grand Prix, but he was denied by the nature of Daniel Ricciardo’s retirement.
It had not been the best of weekends for Haas at a circuit that was not expected to suit their car, and Kevin Magnussen led Schumacher on the last row of the grid in qualifying.
Both drivers were lifted up the order due to grid penalties though, so there was still a glimmer of hope for some points which, after Magnussen’s penalty during the race, looked difficult for the Dane.
Both drivers spent the race battling away outside the points paying positions, and Magnussen faced more misfortune when he pitted the lap before the Safety Car was deployed.
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Ricciardo had stopped by the side of the track after he encountered an issue with his McLaren, so race control called for Bernd Maylander to head out onto the racetrack and bunch up the pack.
For one, he picked up George Russell instead of leader Max Verstappen, and for another, Ricciardo’s positioning between the two Lesmos was awkward.
The marshals could not get the car into neutral, so they could not wheel it back to the gate, and the cherry picker had to make its way round to collect Ricciardo’s MCL36.
In the end, everything took too long, so Schumacher finished 12th, and was denied the opportunity to attack Esteban Ocon and Zhou Guanyu for the final point.
In the interests of safety though, the German understands why the race was not restarted.
“It was definitely a good drive but, unfortunately, I didn’t get anything out of it,” said Schumacher, as per GPFans.
“I think points were possible, and especially once the safety car came out, I was like ‘okay, I’m in a position for some decent points’.
“But nonetheless, if it’s for safety, that’s the right decision. For sure, I’ll respect it, and we showed our performance.”
Touching a race car while it is live is a big no-no, and if that was the case, the 23-year-old appreciates the difficult position the marshals were in.
“I don’t know the state of the car, whether it was in a dangerous state,” explained Schumacher.
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“Of course, I understand the marshals don’t really want to get electrocuted. I wouldn’t want to either, so I definitely respect that.
“It’s the decision of the race director and the FIA to take that and respect it.”
Haas have not scored points since the Austrian Grand Prix, when both Schumacher and Magnussen finished inside the top 10.