Mick Schumacher says that the Orange Army make the Dutch Grand Prix “smelly” with all the flares they let off.
Dutch interest in Formula 1 never used to be huge, but that has changed drastically with Max Verstappen becoming one of the stars of the sport.
Now, a see of orange can be regularly seen in the grandstands at the races in the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria.
Not only do Dutch fans dress head to toe in orange, but they also bring orange flares with them and let them off throughout the race weekends.
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This can be somewhat inconvenient for the drivers, reducing their visibility if the fog from the flares drifts onto the track.
Schumacher says that’s not the only problem with them either saying they make it smell in the car.
“You know the atmosphere is great,” he said in the press conference at Zandvoort.
“Maybe too many flares at times. It was getting kind of smelly in the car. And visibility was getting low.
“But no, I think it’s a special track. I loved coming here in F3 and racing here. It’s such a pure, pure and still old-school track, which I feel like we kind of miss out sometimes on the calendar.
“And it’s just great to come here.”
Schumacher needs a strong result more than ever with his future in the sport very much uncertain.
Haas are rumoured to be leaning towards replacing him for next season, with Antonio Giovinazzi and Daniel Ricciardo both linked with his seat.
What’s more, he’s leaving the Ferrari academy, meaning the Italian team won’t use their influence to help get a drive.
For the time being though, he’s trying not to worry and is only focusing on the rest of the 2022 season.
“I see the pros that I’ll be racing this weekend and the weekend after and hopefully in Singapore and Suzuka, and the races to come so now I’m excited,” he said.
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“For this weekend, I think our car should be quite strong and hopefully I will be able to score some points.”
He feels he has a good chance of getting points in Zandvoort as he feels the nature of the circuit will suit the Haas car.
“High downforce tracks usually suit our car bit better, especially the hard tyres in this case,” said the German.
“So I suppose we will be a bit stronger. Hopefully, we can reach a Q3 and score some points.”