Mick Schumacher, Haas, Hungaroring, 2021

Schumacher surprised to hold faster cars behind for so long

2021 Hungarian Grand Prix

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Mick Schumacher was surprised he was able to keep several quicker cars behind as long as he did in the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Haas have had the slowest car at every race so far this year, but Schumacher ran ahead of several quicker rivals who fell behind him early in Sunday’s race. He spent several laps scrapping with Max Verstappen, who had heavy damage on his Red Bull, Pierre Gasly and Lewis Hamilton. The trio eventually made it past him, but the rookie was surprised they didn’t get by more quickly.

“I was not anticipating holding them all that long but I was glad that I was able to and able to also get the opportunity to fight with the top guys,” said Schumacher.

“I was fighting with Max twice on the road. So being able to make my experiences [count] in that case and feel the pressure and not crack under pressure, I think that was really positive day for us.”

It took until lap 16 for Verstappen, Gasly and Hamilton to pass Schumacher. He finished the race 12th, close behind Antonio Giovinazzi.

Haas therefore remain point-less heading into the summer break, but Schumacher believes the team’s “very positive” performance in Hungary gave them cause for cheer.

“I think it really gave everybody a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “There’s lots learned, lots to take away from here. And obviously I think for everybody a lot to look forward to into the summer break and then coming back in Spa.”

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2021 Hungarian Grand Prix

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8 comments on “Schumacher surprised to hold faster cars behind for so long”

  1. Shame that it seems the Hamilton Spa 08 rule has been dropped. Otherwise Mick could have held him off for a lap or two more.

    https://twitter.com/F1/status/1422248831866048513

    1. @ian dearing That rule was BS in the first place, so good thing. Max didn’t gain an advantage anyway as otherwise, FIA would monitor track limits at the T1 exit. He didn’t even overtake while off track.

      1. F1oSaurus (@)
        3rd August 2021, 20:06

        @jerejj In this case it’s actually clear that the only way to get so close behind Schumacher was to do what Verstappen did. He takes a much wider line (well off track) to get a higher exit speed coming out of that turn to enable him to overtake Schumacher for the next corner.

        This is a clear example of when that rule actually does make sense and should have been applied.

    2. Yeah nothing says “advantage” quite like losing a place when off the track.

      the reason Mick was able to hold off faster cars – Those cars weren’t 2-4 seconds a lap faster than him, that’s why he was able to hold them behind while Hamilton had it easy

  2. its because the track is one of the easiest tracks to defend on.
    because its top 3 tracks when it comes to difficulty in overtaking.

  3. +1
    You have possibly two good places to cleanly overtake @hungaroring.

    Max did make wheel contact with Schumacher when he passed, but that is because the track is so tight

  4. It shows that the method of lining cars up on the grid based on qualifying the FASTEST CARS IN FRONT is nonsense. It should be reversed to present constructor’s standings. Nobody would have a drag race by giving the faster car a head start, but that’s exactly what F1 does.
    Hungary shows F1 could be much more exciting in it’s present incarnation, simply by not giving faster cars a further advantage; the whole field is obviously competitive if an Alpine can hold off a Mercedes for multiple laps.
    Since sprint races negates the argument that qualifying is Holy, substitute another sprint race for qualifying. Light cars without regards to tires makes for better racing, as we’ve seen.
    FOM/Liberty holds the reins on what could be more exciting with no cost, unless there is an unspoken edict to protect the status quo and their spending (which I suspect is the real motivation of the regulations…).

  5. I think it is interesting that overtaking is difficult but we have nonetheless seen quite a few thrilling races held there in the last decade.

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