Former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher has sharply criticised Williams’ decision to put Franco Colapinto in the cockpit instead of Mick Schumacher for the rest of the season. Team boss James Vowles, however, did not take the accusations lightly and immediately countered. The Briton later rowed back
Mick Schumacher has suffered another bitter defeat: Despite the recommendations of numerous Formula 1 greats, the son of record world champion Michael Schumacher is not allowed to take the wheel at Williams and replace Logan Sargeant until the end of the season.
His uncle Ralf, one of the biggest advocates alongside Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff and former world champion Sebastian Vettel, ranted in an interview with “dpa”: The decision by Williams boss James Vowles was “absurd and makes no sense”. In addition, the racing team is taking a “much higher risk” by using the Argentinian Franco Colapinto, who is relatively unknown in this country, as Mick Schumacher has important experience from two years at Haas.
However, Vowles did not want to leave the 49-year-old’s accusations uncommented. In a conversation with “GP Blog” among others, he replied bluntly: “Mick is not special, he would only have been ‘good’.”
The Williams decision-maker explained: “There were three options on the table. One was Liam Lawson, one was Mick and one was Franco. With Liam, Red Bull’s contractual position would not have matched with me here at Williams. So under these circumstances, that was out of the question for us.” But deciding between Schumacher and Colapinto was “really difficult”.
Colapinto also only “good” – a decisive advantage over Mick
Mick Schumacher has “improved greatly compared to his time at Haas. There is no doubt about that,” Vowles stressed, praising his “incredible work at Alpine, Mercedes and McLaren.”
The fact that Colapinto, who Vowles also only rated as “good”, was given the cockpit is ultimately due to the fact that the youngster comes from the in-house academy and has done numerous laps in the Williams simulator. “So it’s a decision whether we invest in the future or in someone else. I think both fall into the category of ‘good’, not ‘special’. I think we have to be very open about this question.”
Vowles believes in the Williams way and in the racing team’s values. “Williams has always invested in new generations of drivers and youth. And what I’ve been talking about all the time is investing in the future of Williams. And the future of Williams doesn’t mean investing in the past, but in talent that will enable us to progress as individuals. It’s an investment in an academy.”
Words about Schumacher: Vowles later backtracks
On Friday evening, the Williams team boss spoke out again about the Schumacher case. “Those were my words, but I was shocked to read them. It was stupid. It may have hurt Mick,” said the Briton about his much-discussed statements on the “Sky” microphone.
He added that he considered multiple world champions such as record champion Lewis Hamilton to be in the category of “special” drivers. However, he had no doubts about Schumacher’s quality.
“James is a bright mind. He will have chosen his words wisely,” said Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff earlier that afternoon about his former chief strategist Vowles, while also speaking out in support of Schumacher: “Mick has won Formula 2, 3 and 4. He was crushed in the Haas environment. We haven’t seen everything from him yet. But every team has to make the best decisions for itself.”
Source: www.sport.de
