Schumacher “very happy” after his first real participation in Q2

There are 14th places on the grid which have the flavor of pole position. All you had to do was hear the cries of joy rising from the garage Haas after the entry of Mick Schumacher in Q2 this Saturday in Istanbul to be convinced.

The anonymous performances of the VF-21 have been known for a very long time, its total lack of development just as much.

It is therefore not easy for the members of the American team to travel the world knowing that there is almost no chance of seeing the Haas anywhere other than at the back of the grid.

Schumacher took advantage of the day's uncertain weather conditions and precarious track grip to lift his modest car into Q2 for the second time this season.

The young 22-year-old German even had the luxury of beating his illustrious compatriot Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), as well as the winner of the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren).

This is not the first time that the champion F2 entered the Top 15 in qualifying this season. This was already the case in France but an exit from the track at the end of Q1 prevented Schumacher from participating in the intermediate segment of qualifying at Le Castellet (Var).

« This time, we were able to really participate, smiled the person concerned on Saturday evening. I am happy to have had this experience, to have been able to even consider reaching Q3.

I know the chances were slim but it would have been great to achieve it. The feeling behind the wheel was excellent and the team did a good job. I'm just very happy.

(In Q1) I had one try left and I knew there was a way to do something because the previous round wasn't bad at all. And I felt like I still had more to do because I hadn't been 100% satisfied with my ride before. We managed to make the most of this last attempt.

When I crossed the line, Gary (Gannon, his engineer, Editor’s note) turned on the radio and I could hear the celebrations behind him in the garage so I knew this was looking good ».

In Q2, Schumacher was indirectly hampered by an exit from Lance stroll (Aston Martin) at the first corner during his last flying lap. The Haas rider finally failed a little less than 6/10th from entering Q3 (1'25''200 against 1'24''642 for Lando Norris, 10th).

The German pilot estimated that he could have scratched " 2-3/10th only by upgrading (S)we pilot, and without knowing the evolution of the track ».

Not sure that it was enough to enter the Top 10, but Schumacher was clearly not going to be choosy after his best qualification of the year, also marked by the time suitcase stuck to his teammate Nikita mazepin – almost 3 full seconds! – in Q1.