Haas Formula 1 team’s Mick Schumacher has blamed the crash in the first free practice session of the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix on the spray of water sprayed by the preceding car.
Like the other drivers, Mick Schumacher practiced the start from the grid following taking the checkered flag in the first practice session, but lost control at Turn 7 on his way back to the pits and crashed into the wall.
The front of Mick Schumacher’s machine was severely damaged. The team decided to preemptively replace the chassis so that the damage might be properly investigated for the rest of the weekend, forcing Schumacher to miss FP2.
Mick Schumacher, who has never raced at Suzuka, complained over the radio following his crash that he was hit by a “massive aquaplaning phenomenon” and later explained that he was caught in the spray from the car in front of him.
Asked if it was because the tires were cold, Schumacher replied: “It was definitely not good that we lost a lot of temperature at the start of practice.”
“But I think more regarding the car that was spitting out a lot of water in front of me. I didn’t really see where to put the car.”
“Besides that, I was in a mode of trying to learn as much as possible so that I might have all the right settings for the race.”
“I’m trying to understand the track itself. Of course, it’s my first time here and I was trying to see where the puddles were, because it’s very different every place you go.”
“And unfortunately here the water seems to accumulate quite a bit in certain areas. Understanding that was a problem.”
“So if it had happened two meters later, I would probably have spun 360 degrees and kept going. But things are there for a reason. I don’t know what the reason behind it is, but probably 10. We’ll know in a year’s time!”
Mick Schumacher finished FP1 with the seventh fastest time and claimed he would have posted the fourth fastest time had it not been for the traffic in the final sector. He also dismissed the notion that missing out on FP2 would put pressure on him as his place with the Haas F1 team in 2023 remains uncertain.
“Pressure is something I’ve dealt with for quite some time, I would say my entire life, so I don’t care,” said Mick Schumacher.
“On the other hand, I always want to do my best, and it doesn’t matter what happened before, one thing at a time. That’s tomorrow in FP3 and qualifying.”
“Without the traffic in the last sector, we would have been fourth. It looked very promising and I think the rain really suits our car at the moment. I’m really looking forward to it.”
With Saturday’s Japanese Grand Prix set to run in dry conditions, Mick Schumacher admits he is unsure if the Haas F1 team’s wet pace will change when the water recedes.
“It might be a little bit more difficult,” said Mick Schumacher of the Haas F1 team’s dry form.
“At the moment, I think the other teams have a bit of an advantage in the dry.”
“However, we will do our best to see what the set-up is like and what we need to do to have a good qualifying.”
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s track. It’s a great place and hopefully we can get into Q3 with the car we have. I think that will be the target. As for the race itself, being able to score points. I expect
Category: F1 / Mick Schumacher / F1 Japan GP / Hearth
