Hill: 'Pressure got to Schumacher, found F1 harder than he thought'

Schumacher, the son of seven-time world champion Michael, lost his Haas seat and place on the F1 2023 grid to Nico Hulkenberg following a difficult sophomore campaign that was blighted by several costly crashes. 

And 1996 F1 world champion Hill, who lost out on the 1994 world title to Schumacher’s father in controversial circumstances, reckons the German struggled to cope with the pressure. 

“I think Mick was under a lot of scrutiny, a lot of pressure and I think that it got to him the end,” Hill told the F1 Nation podcast.

“I don’t know where he gets his advice from but I think he probably found it was harder than he thought [in] Formula 1. 

“There’s other aspects to it, which you only get from years of being in the sport which I think Nico Hulkenberg has had and, therefore, he can concentrate on delivering for the team.

“That’s why the team ultimately need people who can just do the job without putting them under stress.”

Schumacher has been linked with a reserve driver role at Mercedes for 2023. 

Daniel Ricciardo also lost his drive for next season after his underwhelming displays against McLaren teammate Lando Norris. 

The Australian - who has been replaced by Oscar Piastri - is returning to Red Bull as a third driver with the aim of securing a competitive full-time seat to make his F1 comeback in 2024. 

“The way that the sport is presented now it’s there’s a lot of very good positiveness, and that’s great,” Hill added.

“But underlying everything is always going to be the bottom line and the bottom line is you win or you don’t, or you’re quicker or you’re not, and that’s going to rule your life.”