Haas boss Guenther Steiner has claimed Mick Schumacher still has an opportunity to showcase his talents with the team, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season. Prior to the 2021 campaign, the German was signed to his first ever Formula 1 contract, a two-year deal.
The 23-year-old ended a tough debut season in 19th in the drivers' championship, ahead of then-teammate Nikita Mazepin, but with no points scored. With new cars and regulations, Schumacher endured a difficult start to this season, with two big crashes in Jeddah and Monaco.
After being publicly warned by Steiner to improve his performances, the young star did just that and scored the first points of the season and his career in Austria and Silverstone, with the latter featuring a great battle with Max Verstappen in the closing stages. He currently sits 15th in the drivers standings, 10 points behind teammate Kevin Magnussen in 12th.
Haas' performance level hasn't improved over the summer despite an upgrade package implemented in Hungary, so both their drivers have been limited in their ability to perform. It is currently unclear where Schumacher will end up next season and Steiner himself confirmed a decision has yet to be made regarding his future.
"We are still looking at what is best for the team," Steiner told Austrian broadcaster Laola1. "Do we only look at the technique or the qualities a driver brings?
"I'll be honest, we don't know if Mick will stay or not. He had very good races in Canada, Britain and Austria, but he lacks consistency - he should be strong more often. We are in no rush with drivers, and Mick still has opportunities to show what he can do."
Steiner also told RTL that Haas need to be gentle and not exert too much pressure on the promising youngster. "You put pressure on someone, and we can't do that - it would be shooting ourselves in the foot," he said.
"We don't have time pressure and it is what all the other teams want - it's an advantage that we don't want to take away from ourselves." Despite driving or Haas, Schumacher is a member of Ferrari Driver Academy and his seat at Haas is likely to be dependent on the Scuderia extending its backing of the young German.
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said that Ferrari would soon engage in talks with Schumacher, in conjunction with Haas. "We will in a few races sit down with him, make a balance of the season, and we’ll do that as well together with Haas and decide his best future," he said.
