Mick Schumacher’s cousin, David, has laid blame on the German’s former teammate, Nikita Mazepin, for Mick’s axing from the Haas team.
Mick lost his place on the F1 grid at the end of the 2022 season, having placed 16th in the Driver Standings.
His teammate for that year was Kevin Magnussen, who finished three places ahead of him in 13th.
However, Mick’s inaugural F1 season, in 2021, was something of a disaster, with the German finishing 18th – with not a single point to his name.
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However, he still “dominated” his teammate Mazepin, who finished dead last in the Driver’s Standings.
David commented: “Mick’s problem was that he couldn’t really compete with his teammate Nikita Mazepin in his debut year.
“Both were newcomers and Mazepin, who he dominated, was no benchmark.
“But as a young driver, you urgently need that in order to develop.
“Only in his second year did he have a strong driver as a teammate in Kevin Magnussen.
“I don’t think Haas gave him enough time to develop under the circumstances. Because Formula 1 is incredibly complicated.”
David believes that his cousin is now in a better place at Mercedes, despite acting as a reserve driver.
David stated: “Luckily he can now learn everything in peace at Mercedes that he couldn’t at Haas.
“I hope he gets another chance. If so, then he will convince, I’m sure.”
Mick does seem to have won over some senior figures in the F1 world.
AlphaTauri boss, Franz Tost, revealed that he wanted to bring Mick into the fold, instead of the ill-fated Nyck de Vries at the end of last season.
The Austrian principal said: “Yes, I advocated for Mick at that time. It’s no secret.”
Even Guenther Steiner, Mick’s former boss, admitted that the German is in the “best position to secure a permanent seat among all the drivers at the moment”.
Meanwhile, Mazepin seems to have little hope of returning to F1.
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He was sacked by Haas at the beginning of 2022, due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
David, a DTM racing driver himself, was asked about his desire to join F1.
He responded: “That’s difficult to say. At the moment I’m fully concentrating on touring car racing, that’s my focus.
“I can’t foresee what comes after that. This will evolve over the course of the year.”