Guenther Steiner said he decided to axe Mick Schumacher because he felt his Haas team needed a driver who can "make us grow".
The team announced of last weekend's Abu Dhabi season finale that it would be Schumacher's final race as a Haas driver. For the 2023 season, his seat will be filled by Nico Hulkenberg – forming an experienced driver pairing with Kevin Magnussen.
That lineup is in stark contrast to last year, when Haas had two rookies driving for them. Nikita Mazepin lasted for just one year before being axed in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Schumacher was given a second season, but did not prove his ability on enough occasions in 2022 to earn a third.
In an appearance on F1's Beyond the Grid podcast this week, Steiner shed some light on his thinking after making what has proven to be a controversial decision with fans. And in doing so he made it clear that Schumacher's age and lack of experience ultimately counted against him.
"Mick can [become] a good driver, or he's already a good driver," he admitted. "But he can get better. But how long does it take us? Because he's growing with us, he cannot make us grow. We said, 'How can we do that?'
"We looked around and we knew Nico – we had a few discussions in the years before with him and it never materialised that he came to work with us – so obviously there was the respect there. He was on the market, he hasn’t driven now full-time for three years, [so we wondered], can he do it?
"He drove two races [with Aston Martin] this year, and he did do pretty well. We evaluated what is better for the team and in the end it came out that it is better to get an experienced driver to make the team move up quicker. Because a Formula 1 team is one of those things – you need to go quick, otherwise you lose momentum and you stay behind."
In an earlier discussion on the topic, Steiner admitted he had deliberately delayed making the decision to test how much Hulkenberg wanted it. "I spoke to [Hulkenberg] for a pretty long time, then maybe not speaking, just seeing how he reacted," he said.
"With some people, when you want something, you get high and then you lose interest. It's a psychology thing. But he always kept on pushing, always asking. I left that seat on purpose there to see. But he always came back, 'What is happening? What is happening?'... Did he want it? Oh yeah, Jesus Christ. He's chasing me a lot. They played the game, him and his lawyer!"
