Guenther Steiner says he expects his rookie drivers, Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, to make mistakes during the 2021 Formula 1 season, but he hopes 2022 is the year where the Haas F1 Team’s fortunes turnaround.
Schumacher and Mazepin have been drafted into the Haas line-up after the departure of Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen. It means that in 2021, Haas will field an all-rookie line-up for the first time in their history.
And Steiner, the Team Principal at Haas, says the fact they are both rookies means that mistakes are likely to happen, but he expects 2022 to be a much different story as both will be able to build on their experience from 2021.
“Both have already proven their talent, but both are still very young, you should never forget that,” said Steiner to F1-Insider.com. “That means you have to expect mistakes.
“They should learn from them. 2021 will be a learning year for all of us. Then in 2022 we want to attack and get into the top five of the Constructors’ Championship.”
Steiner says he will do everything he can to protect his drivers from media pressure, with Schumacher coming into the sport as the son of seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher.
The Team Principal says there needs to be some realism when it comes to the younger Schumacher, and expectations that he can emulate his father are, at this time at least, unrealistic.
“The expectation from the media will be extreme because he is the son of the record World Champion,” said Steiner. “But you can’t expect Mick to win seven titles too.
“I’ll protect him when it comes down to it because I am convinced that he will succeed. You just have to give him the appropriate time.
“This also applies to Nikita Mazepin.”
