Austrian GP: Mick Schumacher eyeing more points as Haas impress in qualifying

Mick Schumacher is eyeing up more championship points in Austria with Haas looking strong at the Red Bull Ring.

The German ended his long wait for first-ever championship points in F1 last weekend with a fine drive at Silverstone, as he took eighth place in the British Grand Prix.

He will be eager to make sure the wait for more points is nowhere near as long, too, and he has a good chance this weekend of ensuring that that is the case with him lining up P7 for today’s Sprint.

He and Haas team-mate Kevin Magnussen had gone seventh and eighth quickest during qualifying but Sergio Perez’s penalty after the session means they now line up P6 and P7, and with the top eight earning points in the Sprint this year, they have a chance of kicking off the racing action this weekend in positive style.

Speaking after quali, too, Mick revealed that he’s aiming to at least hold position and potentially climb even higher in the Sprint, as he looks to add to his championship points tally:

“We came quite close with that Q3 cut-off, so we were lucky there as we didn’t quite maximize the lap but otherwise it was ok, but not the cleanest of sessions.

“Trying to push the tyres to get them warmed up again is never great, you’re already taking some potential out of them and I think there was definitely more lap time in it. If we hold position [in the Sprint,] we have points and if we move forward, we gain even more so we’ll go for the more points option hopefully.”

© Provided by Give Me Sport SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA – JULY 08: Mick Schumacher of Germany driving the (47) Haas F1 VF-22 Ferrari on track during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on July 08, 2022 in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Mick has actually been driving really well for the last few races, and he would have felt as though he could have got points back in Montreal as well, but for a reliability issue with the car.

Even so, he’s focusing on what is ahead and Haas have the chance to earn decent points this weekend, though they do have the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez starting behind them this afternoon and naturally looking to fly past.

The Sprint gets underway at 3:30pm UK time in Spielberg.