Mick Schumacher bit back at Bernie Ecclestone after the former Formula 1 chief told the German to quit the sport.
Schumacher is currently sweating over his F1 future. His Haas seat is far from secure, with his contract expiring at the end of the year and Guenther Steiner considering replacing him with the more experienced Nico Hulkenberg for 2023.
The Haas team principal suggested this week that he could announce his decision in time for the drivers' test after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix next weekend. So with a conclusion to the saga on the horizon, and back in the F1 paddock for the first time since his controversial Vladimir Putin comments, Ecclestone weighed in on Schumacher's future.
"Maybe he needs to forget F1 and focus on other motorsport series," he told German broadcaster RTL. "His name is his biggest burden, but he is trying to live up to it as best he can. And that's what brings him all the problems. That's why [he should] forget about it and win in another category."
In his response to that opinion, Schumacher made it clear he does not give too much stock to what Ecclestone thinks. "My plan is to keep going – it's hard to forget Formula 1. I love it too much so I won't do that," he said in Brazil.
"Everyone always has an opinion on everything. I care about the opinions of the people I care about. Of course my family, and a few other people from Formula 1. For example, Sebastian Vettel. Those are the opinions that matter to me."
Speaking about his upcoming driver decision, Hass boss Steiner told reporters: "Hopefully next week we can announce something, whatever we are doing." He did, however, caveat that by adding: "It's my objective, but I don't promise it.
"We want to have the driver in that drives next year in the Abu Dhabi test, that's the only thing we want to do. The rest is, we try to make the best decision we can, and time helps to make good decisions.
"We have done a lot of things, we have done a lot of analysis, what have we done this year, how can we improve the team. That is not down to one race as a lot of people say, even if it's a fantastic race here. We just think about mid-term, not just short-term. Short-term was a few years ago."
