Esteban Ocon has come to the defence of fellow racer and friend Mick Schumacher after the German collided with compatriot Sebastian Vettel in Miami, ultimately costing both of them a points finish.
Ocon was sat behind the battle for ninth place, and had a prime spot to watch the events unfold as Schumacher darted to the inside and tagged the four-time world champion, causing them both significant damage and giving the 25-year-old two positions.
Vettel admitted after the race that the incident was “stupid” on both their parts, before affirming that there were no hard feelings, with which Schumacher agreed.
READ: Mick Schumacher reacts to ‘stupid’ crash with Sebastian Vettel
“[The] same from my side. It’s nice that I can learn from him and he so valuable to me as a friend and obviously we are all racers,” he told Sky Sports.
The collision means that Schumacher has now gone 27 race entries in his F1 career without scoring a single point, but Ocon is certain that the 23-year-old can bounce back.
“We talked about it but Mick knows exactly what he has to do. He’s a Formula 1 driver, has a lot of talent and therefore doesn’t need my advice at all,” he said.
The Frenchman stayed true to the form of multiple colleagues over the weekend, indicating that the lack of grip on the loose track surface is what caused the accident.
“The tarmac was a complete disaster because we couldn’t overtake on it. Mick touched Sebastian partly because you couldn’t attack from the inside,” explained Ocon.
“If you went off the ideal line, you lost half a second.”
Haas boss Guenther Steiner has made a name for himself in being ruthless in his assessments, so it is no surprise that he emphasises, having watched Kevin Magnussen score points on three occasions this year, that the results need to start appearing for Schumacher.
“We only have ourselves to blame for that,” he explained.
“We have to exploit our potential. We can’t always say that there will be another race next weekend, because at some point the season will be over and we’ll still be waiting for the 24th grand prix.”
Ralf Schumacher, six-time race winner in F1 and uncle of Mick, observes that his nephew’s gentle personality is not always compatible with Steiner’s firm approach.
“Mick and Steiner don’t fit together in character. An outwardly tough guy like Kevin Magnussen suits Steiner better,” he stated.
Despite the late incident, Ralf takes heart from the fact that Schumacher had been out-performing Magnussen throughout the weekend.
“What was more important to me is that Mick had a very good weekend,” he added.
“He was consistently faster than his teammate and created the basis for himself to finish in the points using his own strength.”
As a result, he affirms that Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto will be relatively satisfied with the German’s progress.
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“So the trend is going in the right direction, and that is exactly what Mattia Binotto wants to see,” affirmed Ralf.
Mick remains 19th in the Drivers’ Championship as he continues to await his first points in the pinnacle of motorsport.