Mick Schumacher, more Ralf than Michael

Two weeks ago, a few minutes after finishing the Austrian Grand Prix in sixth position, his best result in Formula 1, Mick Schumacher found out while attending television that the fans' votes had just named him the driver of the day, a more symbolic recognition than anything else, but that in the case of the German certifies his good moment.

That impression is validated if we take into account that at the Silverstone circuit, the week before the test at the Red Bull Ring, Schumacher premiered his points record in the World Championship -he finished eighth-, and shelved a dynamic of 31 big blank prizes

The last two Sundays have activated the rumors about the future in the short and medium term that the current Haas rider has ahead of him.

From the American team they stick out their chests and attribute part of the credit that has motivated the boy's

or, at least, not contributing to feeding the doubts that circulate around him.

“The objective was that, to bring calm.

And the good thing is that this tranquility has come exactly when the outsiders were trying to destabilize”, commented this week Gunther Steiner, head of the Haas team, in a statement to the

media .

The "satisfaction" that the popular Italian-American executive acknowledges feeling is proportional to the concern generated by the lack of punch of Michael's son, the greatest legend that this discipline has ever given along with Lewis Hamilton, who accumulates as many titles as him (seven) .

Until the last two stops on the calendar, Schumacher had been widely surpassed by the Danish Kevin Magnussen, his workshop neighbor, who was claimed on the horn to replace the Russian Nikita Mazepin, vetoed by Haas in response to the conflict in Ukraine.

Sanction to Sainz

The numbers don't lie: having passed the halfway point on the calendar, and at the gates of the 12th round of the course, on the French circuit of Paul Ricard (3:00 p.m., Dazn), Magnussen occupies eleventh place in the general points table, with a total of 22 in his locker, nearly twice as many as him (12).

The duel in qualifying is also lopsided in favor of the Nordic by nine to two (Mick Schumacher, yes, did not run in the Saudi Arabian event due to an accident in Q2).

In qualifying for the French Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc claimed his seventh

of this 2022. The Monegasque driver, with the help of Carlos Sainz -he will start 19th after losing ten places due to replacing the engine of his Ferrari-, imposed on Max Verstappen (second).

Fernando Alonso will start seventh, while Mick Schumacher will start 17th, two positions ahead of Kevin Magnussen, who received the same penalty as the Spaniard.

Carlos Sainz drives his single-seater during the qualifying session for the French Grand Prix this Saturday.

Manu Fernandez (AP)

Two weeks before the summer break, the small teams still have room before closing their line-up with a view to 2023. Time works in favor of Schumacher, who, thanks to the leap in quality of the Ferrari engine, has taken an important step forward, and which hopes to justify its continuity in the second half of the season.

Logic leads one to think that he will continue to wear the Haas jumpsuit, since there is no gap at Ferrari – Leclerc and Sainz have a valid contract – even though he is part of the Ferrari Drivers Academy.

It is true that the shadow of the success that his father reaped with the Maranello brand is very long, but nobody would understand a promotion to the builder of

unless your performance increases considerably from now on.

In fact, it is not that the comparison with his father is out of place with the results in hand, it is that he is nowhere near the merits of Ralf, his uncle, winner of six races at the beginning of the decade of the years 2000, always with Williams, and who was also able to get on the podium 27 times and sign six

.

The agreement between Haas and Ferrari gives the Italian manufacturer a preferential right in the choice of drivers.

Nobody today dares to question Schumacher, even though his career does not correspond to the expectations that accompany him.

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