Mick Schumacher has told where he can still improve after finally gaining some momentum for the first time since his Formula 1 debut.
As an F2 and F3 champion, and because of his surname, a lot was expected from the German when he was handed his first F1 drive last year with Haas. But it has not been an easy ride, with points proving elusive as his confidence slipped.
2021 was a terrible season for the team and Schumacher was saddled with an entirely uncompetitive car. He was not reasonably expected to score points that year due to how bad the car was, but his problems carried over into this season.
Haas have been much more capable of top-10 finishes – as much more experienced team-mate Kevin Magnussen proved at the very first attempt. But still the points eluded Schumacher, while costly crashes in Saudi Arabia and Monaco did little to impress team boss Guenther Steiner.
But finally the penny appears to have dropped. He finally broke his duck at the 31st time of asking when he finished eighth at the British Grand Prix, and followed it up with an even better result of sixth the very next weekend at Austria's Red Bull Ring.
Like most others, 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve was impressed with those results as well as the way he battled with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in successive races. "He has definitely progressed as a driver," wrote the Canadian in his Formule1.nl column.
"I have also criticised him in the past – he crashed and forced too much in his driving, but that's really getting better. His battle with Hamilton on Saturday was great."
That praise was tempered by a word of advice from Villeneuve, who added: "But as soon as he passes someone, he squeezes the other driver too much off the track. [In Austria] he did that a few times, including with Fernando Alonso. He has to be more careful, it's the only downside because his speed in the last few races has been good."
