Mick Schumacher will start his Brazilian Grand Prix sprint from last position on Saturday, while his teammate Magnussen will start from pole position.
The qualifying result clearly exaggerated the performance gap between the two Haas drivers, but what happened that led to the final result (Q1 performance) is a good reference. This would ultimately deprive Mick of the objective conditions to stay in Haas, whose future in F1 is worrying.
Mick had been doing well until the head-length tires in late Q1, and he and Magnussen had the same positioning strategy, both starting with half-rain tyres, so changing red tyres made their lap time very tight.
But he still had time to do a warm bere and fly ring to get into Q2, which Magnussen did well, Mick didn't. After a careful bere warmer and an overly timid flying ring, his speed was still far from the closing line.
"I don't think he found the right feeling, he didn't know how to adjust his rhythm, it was too slow," Haas manager Steiner criticized.
"He was very good in Q1 until the last lap."
That's the core reason why Haas is on the sidelines about Mick's seat ownership, with Haas having spent a long time weighing whether Nico Horkenberg should replace him in 2023.
Mick is not incompetent and can often be the fastest driver in the mid-table camp, but that is not enough to make him the "big flag" of the Haas team, as Friday's qualifying at the Inglas circuit demonstrated.
Obviously, getting pole position does not mean a qualitative leap in Haas's Haas's competitiveness, but Steiner has also been harsh in his criticism that Mick did not achieve results comparable to Magnussen with this car. Steiner thought that Mick should at least drive the car into Q3, but he was eliminated in Q1, and that's the truth.
Steiner didn't want to dwell too much on Mick's performance, as he felt it was unfair to judge Meek against the backdrop of Magnussen's Thunderbolt and his failure to hold a team meeting.
But Steiner suspects that "in these changing conditions, he doesn't want to take too much risk," and it certainly is in terms of performance. Magnussen, on the other hand, felt more comfortable with the environment and didn't tiptoe while driving, which allowed him to get into Q3 and win pole position.
Frankly, that's what Magnussen can give Haas, who should have been normal this weekend, but who gave you unexpected results, Magnussen could well surprise you with the extra qualities that are essential qualities among competitive mid-range drivers. That's why Haas was impatient to sign Magnussen when Mazepin was kicked out of the team.
Steiner said: "This is the Kevin we all want to see the most, he has had a couple of difficult games after the summer break and he feels uncomfortable. But in the ranking today, he showed his potential. ”
Mick didn't, which explains why Haas felt it was time to replace him with Hockenberg. Interestingly, Horkenberg also scored a Thunder shot like Magnussen at Interlagos 12 years ago.
Whether you watch Horkenberg's qualifying performance at Williams in 2010 or Magnussen's heroic fight this Friday, you know what kind of driver Haas wants.
Can Magnussen consistently maintain this level? Can Horkenberg replicate his legendary performance at 35? Hockenberg has not had a full-time F1 seat since 2019. However, Haas could choke on these doubts with one sentence, "Can't they catch up with Mick?" ”
Unfortunately for Mick, this qualifying round adds another reason not to sign him.