Scoring points on his 31st time of asking, Timo Glock says Mick Schumacher’s top-ten at the British Grand Prix was “long overdue”.
After last season’s back-of-the-grid Haas failed to score a single point, Schumacher had hoped for better this season.
And his team-mate Kevin Magnussen showed the world, and more importantly Haas team boss Guenther Steiner, that the new car was capable of top-ten finishes.
It seemed for a while there, though, just not in Schumacher’s hands.
Two big crashes marred the 23-year-old’s season while another in Miami, a collision with his mentor Sebastian Vettel, cost him a first points-scoring result. He had another close call in Canada where he was running inside the top eight only for his Haas to fail.
At Silverstone, though, everything fell into place for the German who brought his car home in a much-celebrated P8.
“It was a mega-important result for Mick Schumacher, where the points were long overdue,” Glock told Sky Germany.
Mick Schumacher's sister, Gina, celebrating his first points in F1 is everything ❤️?
(via gina_schumacher/IG) pic.twitter.com/GXk1ld1DC3
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) July 4, 2022
“He often didn’t have luck on his side and was always plagued by technical errors or went through uneven weekends in which he started with a deficit because something went wrong in the first free practice session.
“Of course he made one or two driving mistakes, but that’s what happens when you push yourself to the limit.
“It was also important for him within the team to be clearly faster than his team-mate Kevin Magnussen, who had problems all weekend.
“You saw it in FP3 and the speed in the race was really good too. Even compared to some drivers from the top ten, such as Fernando Alonso or Sebastian Vettel, he was strong and had good speed.”
Schumacher also delighted the fans, and the German pundits, when he had a go at Max Verstappen late in the grand prix.
Not only did he keep his head about him as he took on the reigning World Champion, but ahead of mid-year contract talks with Steiner, he showed his team boss he can race.
Impressed by the way Schumacher “does it, with this calm, with this balance, not letting himself get carried away”, Glock added: “Standing behind the team even in unpleasant situations, which team boss Guenther Steiner also caused to some extent, he does that very, very well for his 23 years – outstandingly well!”
Glock reckons Sunday’s result, having finally broken his duck, will inspire Schumacher to better results in the races to come.
“I believe that when the knot burst, whether it was in Formula 3 or Formula 2, then that released energy again and a load fell off your shoulders,” he said. “The whole paddock was happy for him because it was long overdue. I think that can give him a boost.
“And the good thing is that with the Austrian Grand Prix there is another race weekend coming up where he can build on this strong performance. I’m very happy for him.”
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