05 April 2023 , 10:05
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Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has hit out at Guenther Steiner over his treatment of Mick Schumacher during his two years driving for Haas.
The 24-year-old, who is the son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher, was informed he would be released by Haas on the eve of last season's final Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi after months of speculation about his future.
Steiner later admitted he delayed making a decision about Schumacher's future "on purpose", while team owner Gene Haas was caught calling Schumacher a "dead man walking" just weeks into the 2022 season on the Netflix series Formula 1: Drive to Survive.
The comment came after Schumacher crashed in the second race of the season in Saudi Arabia, with Steiner fuming: "We give him a year to learn, what does he do on the second day? He f***ing destroys the car, just because the other guy is faster."
Wolff has slammed Steiner's treatment of Schumacher, who is now Mercedes' reserve driver, claiming the Haas boss would not have acted like that, had the German's father been present.
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"If one of our drivers gets Covid or gets injured, Mick will be in the Mercedes," Wolff told Blick. "Period, end of discussion! We're trying to get an old car ready for him as soon as possible.
Wolff was critical of the way Haas boss Guenther Steiner treated Schumacher (ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP via Getty Images)"This time Mick would drive. I'm looking out for the little one. I can only say that his parents did nothing wrong in bringing him up. And I claim that if Michael had accompanied his son during the two Haas years, Steiner would not have dared to treat Mick like that!"
Wolff's comments come after Mick's uncle Ralf Schumacher also criticised Steiner, telling F1-Insider last month: "If my brother had been there, Guenther Steiner would have behaved differently.
"I just think Michael's presence would have been enough. But again, everyone does what they want. But of course Mick is family and you have to understand me: If you treat my family like that, I don't like it as Ralf Schumacher."