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Haug exit leaves 'a massive hole' - Schumacher

ESPN Staff
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Michael Schumacher on Norbert Haug: "Him leaving will tear a massive hole in both our sport and our team" © Sutton Images
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Michael Schumacher says Norbert Haug's departure leaves "a massive hole" in both Mercedes and Formula One.

It was announced on Thursday that Haug would be leaving Mercedes by "mutual agreement" after 22 years as the company's head of motorsport. Having had success as an engine supplier to McLaren, the move comes with a Formula One comeback for Mercedes as a constructor only having yielded one victory from three seasons so far.

Schumacher brought his own Formula One career to an end following the Brazilian Grand Prix this year and he said that Haug's departure marked "a big break" in the sport.

"Since I entered professional motorsport, Mercedes and Norbert Haug together were part of it, so this step will mark a big break," Schumacher told his official website. "We spend a lot of years together, being sporting combatants or allies, and Norbert has always been into this with full enthusiasm and wholeheartedly. He was living motorsports, and him leaving will tear a massive hole in both our sport and our team."

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