Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has said he’s not looking to stop his drivers from battling on track, otherwise they “don’t learn anything”.
Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin have had a couple of run-ins during their short time as team-mates. In Baku Schumacher scolded Mazepin for his defending at the end of the race, which led the German to question if he can trust his team-mate.
Then in France the pair were involved in another on-track battle which led to a heated exchange over team radio.
Steiner doesn’t believe it’s as bad as it’s been made out though, and says he doesn’t want to get involved in telling them not to fight, because they would simply finish in their starting order as “there’s nobody else” to fight for Haas, which sits at the back of the pack.
“I’m not worried. I didn’t see the situation in France as dramatic as you guys [the media] try to make it out,” said Steiner.
“We looked into it, and I spoke with Mick about that, and he said, yeah, it was hard racing, it wasn’t unfair.
“But obviously it’s also a difficult position as they are normally side by side because we are at the back end of the grid. So who are they going to fight? Each other obviously, because there’s nobody else around.
“We would wish to fight with Lewis Hamilton at the front, but we cannot, so in the end they try to do their best.”
Steiner understands that it could end in tears, but says he would be “more pissed” if they didn’t battle one another because they’ll learn nothing.
“There is a risk that they run into each other, but if I tell them to just drive behind each other, they will get even more pissed. And I get pissed, because then there’s no point to come here.
“It’s a difficult spot where we are, and this is part of it, and I obviously try to manage as best as possible. But I’m not going to say to them ‘oh, just line up how we lined up in qualifying and drive behind each other’, because then they don’t learn anything.”
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