Mick Schumacher is in the fight of his life to keep his seat at Haas for 2023, with the American team ready to look elsewhere for Kevin Magnussen’s partner.
The German has been told he needs to score points between now and the end of the season if he is to have any chance of keeping his place with the team, and he might be looking for help from and external factor in Mexico this weekend.
The 23-year-old has joked that he will be performing a rain dance before qualifying and the race, with wet conditions potentially suiting the Haas car better than it’s competitors.
“I would love it,” he said when asked if he would want to see the rain continue this weekend.
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“It would suit our car very well.”
Formula One have claimed that there is a 40% chance of rain during qualifying and the race and the Haas drivers will be praying that luck is on their side.
The Haas driver finished 14th in FP1 and 17th in FP2 however as he mentioned, Haas’s car performance in wet conditions might be able to claw back the advantage that the other cars have in the dry.
Schumacher looks to be in a straight shootout with Nico Hulkenberg for the final unconfirmed seat on the grid for 2023, in serious need of a strong race this weekend.
The 23-year-old picked up damage at the Circuit of the Americas which resulted in a loss of performance and therefore finishing outside of the points positions, so he will be hoping for a change of luck in Mexico.
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Schumacher out performed 2021 teammate Nikita Mazepin and looked set for a successful F1 career however his development has stalled somewhat in 2022, never quite being able to match Magnussen with mistakes creeping into his driving.
Big crashes in Monaco and Saudi Arabia have cost the team dearly with team owner Gene Haas telling reporters at a NASCAR event in Las Vegas that the young German is simply proving too expensive to keep, and does not bring in the haul of points that would make the damage costs even slightly worthwhile.
Schumacher will be hoping for some luck this weekend, with a decent point scoring performance perhaps reminding his boss of the potential he has, swinging the driver decision back in his favour.