Schumacher surprised by recognition from rivals

Mick Schumacher has expressed surprise that he was named in the top 10 drivers of 2021 by his Formula 1 peers.

The German was among a trio of F2 racers who stepped up to the elite category for last season. Schumacher, holder of the second-tier title, was joined at Haas by Nikita Mazepin, while Yuki Tsunoda was installed at AlphaTauri.

Tsunoda was the only one of the three to score points because Haas did not develop their car through the season. But Schumacher was the sole rookie to make the top 10 when the drivers voted for their stars of the campaign.

The son of Michael Schumacher, the seven-time former World Champion, only just squeezed into the top half of the 20 racers on the grid in this particular popularity contest, which was topped by Max Verstappen ahead of the man he pipped to the title, Lewis Hamilton, with Lando Norris in third.

Ranked 10th, ahead of the likes of Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo, Schumacher said he had not expected to be in such a lofty position.

“It was definitely nice and I was very happy about it,” said the 22-year-old during an interview with Sky Germany.

“To be honest, I did not expect it. It gives me a boost for this year too, to show it hopefully with a faster car.”

Haas made the decision in 2021 not to upgrade their car in order to put full development focus on their all-new challenger for 2022 – and team principal Guenther Steiner is hopeful they will not only score points this time around but also find themselves back in the midfield.

That is the aim too for Schumacher, who at selected races will also serve as Ferrari’s reserve driver should Charles Leclerc or Carlos Sainz be ruled out for any reason.

“My goal this year is to be as far ahead as possible with