(Reuters) – Formula One rookie Mick Schumacher has been sitting crooked in his car since the first race with Haas in March, the German revealed on Thursday.
The 22-year-old son of Ferrari great and seven-times world champion Michael told reporters the problem was not a major concern, however.
“I’ve been sitting in a crooked position since the beginning of the season,” he said at the Styrian Grand Prix in Austria. “Like, the seat is central but I am not straight.”
The German was seen showing his seat to compatriot and four- times world champion Sebastian Vettel, who races for Aston Martin, after last weekend’s French Grand Prix.
Former Ferrari driver Vettel is close to Schumacher and a trusted friend of the family, offering advice as an old hand in the paddock.
“We’ve actually been talking about it (the seat) before and I took the opportunity to show it to him,” said Schumacher, whose team have yet to score a point this season and are last overall.
“I think he gave my mum the tip of maybe breaking it so I would get a new one sooner but it didn’t happen in the end so I’ve still got the same seat for now.”
Vettel said there were always small things that could be improved and he was happy to help, although it was also a good thing his advice was not heeded with three races on successive weekends and little time to make a new seat.
Asked why Haas had not fixed the problem, Schumacher said it was not that big a deal.
“It’s a small offset, it’s something that I’ve been used to, let’s say, also in junior categories,” he explained. “And to be fair it doesn’t harm me in any way when driving.
“For us it’s mostly about trying to get everything ready for the weekend and being prepared on that level and maybe setting our focus on something else instead of wasting it on something that is maybe not affecting me right now.”
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Ed Osmond)
