Mick Schumacher was told off over team radio for performing doughnuts for the crowd after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The race was his final appearance for Haas, as he will be replaced by Nico Hulkenberg for the 2023 season. That decision means Schumacher will be without a race seat for 2023, placing his future in Formula 1 into some doubt.
Doughnuts are quite common after the final race of an F1 season, as the fans in the grandstands usually enjoy the sight of the drivers burning some rubber. But, as is often the case in a sport with a particularly thick rulebook, there are restrictions on who can do doughnuts, and also on when and where they can be performed.
A document published by the FIA prior to the race weekend showed a designated area for the stunts on the home straight. It also made it clear that the only drivers who would be allowed to do them there would be the top three finishers in the race, and the retiring Sebastian Vettel.
Schumacher was not in the top three, but in his final race for a while at least he decided to do a few doughnuts in another part of the track, as was permitted. But as he did so, a Haas engineer was quick to jump on the radio to tell him to stop.
"Sorry Mick, can you stop doing doughnuts please? Seriously? I'm sorry Mick, but we just can't." While Haas appeared to be worried about causing damage to the car ahead of post-season testing the following Tuesday, fans on social media couldn't help but feel the telling off was harsh.
"What a way to treat a driver who's never bad mouthed the team," wrote one. Another pointed out that Schumacher had responded by telling the team: "Love you too," and described the decision to ask him to stop as "heartless".
A third fan said: "Mick should've been like [Romain] Grosjean and just ignored them. It's his last race for the team anyway." But some did think Haas did the right thing, including one who asked: "Why should they let a driver who has caused millions of crash damage to burn up the drivetrain doing meaningless donuts on a car that they need for the Abu Dhabi test?"
Meanwhile, Hulkenberg made it clear this week he has little sympathy for Schumacher despite taking his seat. "That's just how F1 is and ultimately the driver, when he's racing, he has to convince the team with performance," said the more experienced German.
