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Haas was not allowed to choose Schumacher: 'Ferrari chose Mick'
- GPblog.com
Haas announced on Wednesday that Mick Schumacher will drive for the American team in 2021, but an interview with Günther Steiner now shows that Ferrari and not Haas was the decisive factor in choosing Schumacher.
Schumacher to Haas
Haas takes a big risk in 2021 by starting the season with two rookies. Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher both have a lot of experience in the entry classes for Formula 1, but neither have driven in a Formula 1 Grand Prix before. So they have no gauge on their debut, but the name Schumacher was interesting for Haas.
''To have Schumacher in our team is of course an enormous honour and it causes a lot of interest from all over the world. You have to be able to deal with that, because it can also turn against you. However, we have to give him the best possible material so that we can work with Mick towards a bright future," says Steiner according to Speedweek.com. However, Haas didn't make the final choice for Mick himself.
The choice of Ferrari
"I wanted a Formula 2 driver, not another class below, because that risk is too great for me. Because of our cooperation with Ferrari, I talked to Mattia Binotto and asked if we could get someone from their training. But the names were not discussed," says Steiner.
With Robert Shwartzman, Callum Ilott and Schumacher, Ferrari had plenty of options, but eventually chose the German. ''Ferrari decided that Mick would be the one to be promoted from the juniors and of course that was fine for me," concludes Steiner, who had to convince his boss, Gene Haas, to appear at the start with two rookies in 2021.