Michael Schumacher's son feels 'many people have labeled me wrongly' for his F1 career

Michael Schumacher's son, Mick, has claimed he was mislabeled as a crash-happy driver due to the public reaction he received rather than being judged for what his strengths were. The German drove for Haas F1 Team during the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

After winning the 2020 F2 championship, Mick joined the F1 grid in the 2021 season, following in the footsteps of his legendary father, Michael. The pressure was already high for Mick in his debut season, as he was in the spotlight more regularly than any other rookie, just for being the son of a seven-time world champion.

Driving for the slowest team on the grid in 2021, Mick could hardly deliver any eye-catching performances but was quicker on average than fellow rookie teammate Nikita Mazepin. But after failing to match up with Kevin Magnussen as his teammate in 2022, and following multiple crashes, Mick was released by Haas at the end of the season.

During an interview with the German publication Die Welt, Mick claimed he could match the drivers currently on the F1 grid. He went on to say that he was mislabeled by many people in F1 due to negative public comments. He said:

"I have no doubt that I could keep up with [the current F1 grid]. I'm no worse. It would be nice if I could get another chance to prove that. Simply because I believe that many have labeled me wrongly," Mick told Welt during the interview (Translated into English)

"My reputation was determined more by negative public comments about me and not by what I was good at. I had the image of the crash pilot," he elaborated.

Michael had won two world titles before Mick even turned one and went on to win five more in the early 2000s. Mick grew up in the shadow of the almost-invincible man in F1 during that period and still hopes to return to the sport his father once dominated.

He shared his desire to return to Formula 1 in the same interview, as he believes he has unfinished business left with the sport. He is currently racing in the World Endurance Championship since leaving the Mercedes reserve driver role at the end of 2023.

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Michael Schumacher's son Mick claims Haas design was the reason behind car-splitting crashes in 2022

Michael Schumacher's son, Mick's Haas after Monaco Grand Prix crash, 2022 - Source: Getty

After Mick Schumacher claimed that he was mislabeled during his time in F1 he was probed further by the reporter. The Welt reporter asked him about breaking the car into two pieces twice during the 2022 season.

The 25-year-old claimed that the Haas VF-22's design was the reason behind the car breaking into two separate pieces, suggesting that it was designed to split.

"What isn't taken into account is that our car was designed for this. Due to the lack of fixed points, the design meant that it would split in the event of a side impact. Other cars would have survived in one piece. I didn't communicate that at the time because I didn't want to provoke more friction with the team," Mick mentioned during the interview with Welt.

"I didn't communicate that at the time because I didn't want to provoke any more friction with the team. I was insecure, I didn't defend myself because I was shy. But at the end of the day, you need self-confidence and support in order to perform," he added.

Michael raced for Mercedes during his final years in F1 and is also credited with helping build the team after the Silver Arrows' comeback to the sport in 2010.

So when Mick was signed up for the Brackley-based team as a reserve driver in 2023, many fans had hoped he could join the team as a driver in the future. But when the opportunity opened up following Lewis Hamilton's exit, Toto Wolff decided to go with Italian protege Kimi Antonelli over the German.