Ex-Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher believes Haas team principal Guenther Steiner “would have behaved differently” towards Mick Schumacher had the young German’s father “been there”, with Michael Schumacher having not been seen since the end of 2013.
Steiner was heavily criticised for the way he treated Ralf’s nephew during 2022, with Mick having been axed from the Americans at the end of the season, when no other seats were available.
As a result, the 23-year-old finds himself on the bench at Mercedes this season and not on the grid, something ex-F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone believes wouldn’t be the case if his father was “at his side”
“With Michael at his side as a consultant, Mick would be a regular driver in the cockpit of a good team,” Ecclestone told Sport Bild.
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“He would have shown him the right way in terms of driving, but also politically.”
Ralf has been incredibly vocal about how unhappy he is with how Steiner treated his nephew, with more comments from the Haas boss having been revealed following the release of the recent series of ‘Drive to Survive’.
The ex-F1 driver has labelled Steiner as having been “just too much” and that he wouldn’t have done so if Michael was by Mick’s side, with that being something which “bothers” the seven-time world champion’s brother.
“I think it’s a shame that it had to come to this,” Ralf told f1-insider.com.
“I think that as a seasoned guy you don’t treat a young person like that. Everyone has to withstand pressure in Formula 1, but that was just too much.
“And that’s what bothers me the most – if my brother had been there, Gunther would have behaved differently,” Ralf alleged.
Whilst he does continue to slam Steiner, Ralf does admit that his nephew “was too slow” and cost the team too much through his heavy crashes.
Despite this, Ralf added that he’ll always defend his family, especially when treated in an unfair manner.
“You have to admit that Mick was too slow in the first half of the season and caused too much damage,” Ralf said. “If that is then discussed internally, I have no problem with it at all.
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“My problem was when Gunther said things like ‘If Mick doesn’t like it here, he can go’. I didn’t understand that at all.
“I don’t think Mick had a fair chance, which is very clear if you watch Netflix as well. I just think Michael’s presence would have been enough.
“Of course, everyone can do as they like. But Mick is family and you have to understand that if you treat my family like that, as Ralf Schumacher then I won’t like it.”