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December 7, 2020

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Schumi Jr claims Formula Two crown

Mick Schumacher finished out of the points but still clinched the Formula Two title in Bahrain yesterday in the German’s last race before moving up to Formula One with the United States-owned Haas team.

The 21-year-old son of seven-time world champion and Ferrari great Michael was 18th in a sprint race won by Indian driver Jehan Daruvala but his title rival Callum Ilott was 10th with only the top eight scoring.

Schumacher signed off with 215 points, 14 clear of Briton Ilott, with Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda, now expected to move up to Formula One with Red Bull’s Honda-powered AlphaTauri team, a further point behind.

Nikita Mazepin, Schumacher’s future teammate at the Haas team next year, finished fifth in the title race.

Tire damage forced the German to pit after 15 laps, sending him to the back of the field.

After climbing out of the PREMA Racing car, he knelt down by it for several seconds with his hand over his eyes.

Then he hugged members of his team and Sabine Kehm, his agent and a close family friend.

“I feel overwhelmed,” Schumacher said after the race. “I don’t really understand or feel like a champion yet. It’s going to take a few days maybe (to sink in).”

“It would feel or sound a lot better if I had a good race today,” he said of the title. “But nevertheless we did enough.

Schumacher and Mazepin, the son of a Russian billionaire, replace Haas’s current driver pairing of Romain Grosjean — who escaped a fiery crash in last Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix — and Kevin Magnussen.

Schumacher has shone in Formula Two this season after achieving 10 podium finishes and feature-race victories at Monza and Sochi.

Abu Dhabi race

He will get a taste of what is needed at the elite level when he takes part in Haas’ free practice ahead of the 2020 season-ending Abu Dhabi GP on December 11 before participating in testing a few days later.

But Grosjean will miss the Abu Dhabi race, with the Frenchman flying to Switzerland to continue his recovery from injuries sustained in the Bahrain crash.

Forced to sit out yesterday’s Sakhir Grand Prix, the Frenchman had been hoping to return for what looked set to be his Formula One swansong in the United Arab Emirates on December 13.

Grosjean walked away from the horrific crash last week, despite his car being split in half and bursting into flame. The 34-year-old suffered second-degree burns to the back of his hands, for which he will continue to receive treatment in Switzerland, the Haas team said in a statement yesterday.

“It is with great sadness that I will not be able to do my final race in Abu Dhabi and be with the team there,” Grosjean said in the statement.

“We’ve tried as much as we could with the doctor to recover and to repair my hand but the risk of racing is too big for my recovery and my health,” he said. “It’s one of the hardest decisions of my life but it’s obviously one of the wisest.”

Haas will instead run Brazilian reserve Pietro Fittipaldi, standing in for Grosjean in Sakhir, for a second consecutive weekend.

“Romain has shown exceptional bravery and amazing spirit over the last few days,” said Haas team principal Guenther Steiner. “We know how badly he wanted to be able to return... in Abu Dhabi.”

Grosjean has been with Haas since the team’s debut F1 season in 2016.

Mercedes on Saturday said it would be open to arranging a farewell Formula One test for Grosjean if the Frenchman was unable to return in Abu Dhabi.

Grosjean has said if he couldn’t race in Abu Dhabi, he would try to arrange a private test in January so he can say farewell to Formula One in a fitting way.




 

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