Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner has responded to criticism he faced from Ralf Schumacher after opting to part ways with his nephew Mick.
Mick Schumacher will leave Haas following the conclusion of the 2022 campaign, having spent two years at the US squad.
The 23-year-old will be replaced by Nico Hulkenberg for 2023, who returns to the sport following three years on the sidelines.
Ralf Schumacher was critical of how Haas managed the situation, suggesting that the decision to drop Mick was “personal” for Steiner.
“Mick has shown that there is potential but no matter what he did, the team and Guenther Steiner were never satisfied with it,” he told Sky Sports Germany.
“The whole behaviour cannot be explained with normal standards, it almost has to be something personal.
“I think that Guenther Steiner doesn’t get along with the fact that someone else is the focus at Haas, he is very, very happy to be the one who is in the foreground. He is a self-promoting person.”
Steiner has headed Haas’ day-to-day operations since the formation of the team in the mid-2010s.
The Italian has refuted Ralf Schumacher’s claim, and denies that he has fallen out of favour with Mick.
“I try to do a good job,” Steiner told Sky Sports News.
“It’s not about attention, it’s not about my attention it’s about doing a good job. If people take attention off it, I cannot say, don’t look at me. I’m not doing it on purpose.
“I don’t think I need to defend myself here. Everybody can do and say what they want and I do what I think is best for the team and leave it at that.
“No (there is not a fall out). With Mick, this is not an issue for me with Mick. I cleared that air very well with him and I know that it is not him. It has nothing to do with him.”
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