F1 News: Guenther Steiner - Mick Schumacher must score points

Steiner sets a very clear standard.

The pressure is now on for Mick Schumacher, who has been set the target of scoring points by team principal Guenther Steiner and team boss Gene Haas. 

Schumacher's level of performance has improved relative to his teammate Kevin Magnussen this season, with the 23-year-old significantly reducing the performance gap to his teammate. 

With that said, it appears Schumacher's mistakes at the start of the year had a great impact on his perception within the team. 

Gene Haas has explained the sizable financial costs suffered from Schumacher's numerous shunts at the beginning of the season. 

Haas appears unsatisfied with the youngster's improvements so far this year, outlining that Schumacher must secure top-10 finishes to earn a new contract with the team.

Guenther Steiner explained this to RTL:

"Of course, we will not make a decision between Austin and Mexico simply because the time is not there. 

"The next time would be the week to Mexico because we don't have a race there and have more time to deal with it."

"When I say performance, that means for us: scoring points. We've been saying that for a long time.

"I think we're also very fair. We take our time, we're not in a hurry at the moment."

In an F1 season consisting of several unforeseen twists and turns in the driver market, all attention is on Haas to provide the final piece of the puzzle for the 2023 grid. 

Schumacher's fate with Haas will also impact the state of play at Williams, depending on Logan Sargeant's Super License situation after Abu Dhabi. 

Regardless, Mick Schumacher will indeed be driving to survive in the final races of the season.