Mick Schumacher’s tendency to crash his Haas in 2022 has not only cost the German his place in Formula 1, but it has also cost his team a lot of money.
The 23-year-old has had an eye for the spectacular when crashing in 2022, with a big accident in Saudi Arabi being followed just weeks later by the German snapping his car clean in half in Monaco.
While Schumacher did manage to stay relatively incident free towards the end of the season, his failure to score any points for Haas since the ultimatum was handed to him eventually cost him his seat, with the team choosing experience over potential for next season.
German newspaper Bild has now reported that Schumacher cost Haas just over €3,000,000, a figure which will have hurt the pockets of team owner Gene Haas.
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Eyebrows have been raised at Haas’ decision to discard of a driver with such undoubted potential, in favour of a 35-year-old Nico Hulkenberg coming to the end of his career, however if a young driver is going to prove to be so expensive, the team’s decision to go for experience is warranted.
Kevin Magnussen’s new teammate has revealed that Haas actually delayed his appointment and gave Schumacher more time to prove why he was worthy of a 2023 race seat, after his performances improved after the summer break, however still decided to make a change.
Schumacher is reportedly a target for Audi when they complete their takeover of Sauber in 2026, as the team look for a German driver to match the German brand.
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The 23-year-old’s chances of securing such a coveted race seat will be hindered significantly if he finds himself away from F1 for the next few years, leaving Schumacher to desperately explore his options as he refuses to accept that his career in the sport may be over.
Toto Wolff has admitted that Mercedes have a long and successful relationship with the Schumacher family, and has claimed that a reserve driver role with the Silver Arrows could be a genuine possibility for the German.
Mercedes have a vacancy in this role, after the team’s engineers comedically wheeled current reserve driver Nyck de Dries to the AlphaTauri garage following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as the Dutchman completes a move to Red Bull’s sister team for his first shot at a full time race seat.