'I guess this year wasn’t really my year' says Schumacher after P13 finish in Sao Paulo

A downbeat Mick Schumacher reflected on a tough second season in the sport after he took the chequered flag in 13th at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, concluding “I guess this year wasn’t really my year”.

Schumacher started the race in 12th – after making up an impressive eight places in the Sprint – and continued to make progress in the early stages on Sunday, as he took advantage of incidents ahead to get into the top-10.

The German racer then made the switch to the soft tyre for both his second and third stint as he looked to finish in the points. However, after the Safety Car restart – caused by Lando Norris stopping on track – Schumacher lost places to Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly before coming home in 13th.

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Speaking after the race, Schumacher said: “Just the medium tyre didn’t really seem to work for us today. We struggled a lot with the rears. Once we went on to the softs, I felt a lot more comfortable, I felt a lot more competitive as well.

“Just seems we extended that first stint maybe a bit too much but these things as well, because you don’t know how long the softs will last, but it was all right.”

It was Schumacher’s ninth race in a row without a top-10 finish, having only scored points on two occasions this season – at Silverstone and in Austria – leaving the German to admit it just has not gone his way this year.

“I think it’s been like that all year really,” said Schumacher when asked whether his weekend was frustrating. “Sometimes it’s your year, sometimes not. I guess this year wasn’t really my year. But still have one more to go and we’ll give our best there.”

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Schumacher’s plans for 2023 are yet to be formalised after Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner revealed that the team would announce Kevin Magnussen's team mate for next season this week – with Schumacher widely understood to be competing against compatriot Nico Hulkenberg for the seat.

Haas now head to Abu Dhabi eighth in the constructors’ standings, having increased their lead over AlphaTauri to two points in the championship, after Magnussen scored a solitary point in Saturday’s Sprint.