The Haas driver was quick throughout the session in the rain and felt afterwards that he could have done even better than sixth.
His performance in Montreal came after Schumacher drew criticism following his crash in Monaco, which was followed by a clean but uncompetitive weekend in Baku.
After scoring an impressive result on Saturday, the German will therefore start immediately behind his Haas team-mate Kevin Magnussen.
“Obviously it’s good to have a good result,” Schumacher said. “But it’s also something to build on. And, you know, just prove to everyone that yes, I’m here for a reason.
“I was hoping for more, I think there was more in the car and myself, I just didn’t max out the last set because of the traffic and other times. But in general, very, very happy with the qualifications.
“But I think everyone is also cautiously happy about it, just because we still have tomorrow to look forward to. But overall I think we did a good job today, which is good for the team, but also good for us.
Asked by Autosport if he thought he had silenced the critics, he replied: “Honestly, I don’t really listen to that. I’m here for a reason, and that’s because I love sports and racing. “
“And I’ve proven enough, I think, in my junior years to have a reason to be here.”
Towards the end of Q2, Schumacher was offered the option of pit lap and one lap on fresh tyres, or three on the tires he had. He made the decisive choice to stay out and keep rolling.
“I was on a good ride when we talked about it,” he said. “So it was definitely the right choice.
“There was a lot of standing water around. So that definitely didn’t help the ease of riding. But I have to say I enjoyed it a lot. And I felt very comfortable, which, I think, was reflected in my conduct.
Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-22, Mick Schumacher, Haas VF-22
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport pictures
When asked if he could aim for his first points on Sunday, he replied: “Of course. And I think we have a few cars faster than us at the back. So we’ll do our best for tomorrow.
“I mean, anything can happen. It’s Montreal, and there are obviously a lot of laps, so a lot of opportunities to defend, but also to attack, so we’re not giving up today.
“We just want to have the best result for us as a group and as a whole. So that’s definitely on our minds now. And we’ll just have an in-depth meeting on what we need to do to stay in the position or be at least where we are now.
Magnussen was quick to thank his team for making the right decisions and getting him on the right track at the best time.
He was also keen to praise Schumacher after the latter’s recent string of misfortunes:
“I wish there were points for [Saturday]! “said the Dane after the session.
“It’s a very good job from the whole team today. In these conditions it’s so much about sending you out at the right time and figuring out how to use your laps, and the team did really well. done today. So P5 and P6, I’m really happy about that.
“There are fast people at the back and also just behind me, so I certainly don’t think the P5 will be our target tomorrow. We’ll take it if we can, of course, but I think our car is in sort of in the middle of the pack in terms of pace in the race.
“We’re starting a bit on the forefoot because we’re P5, so let’s see. I would be very happy if we could stay in the top 10.”
“Very happy for [Mick]. He did a very good job in qualifying, I could see he was fast. But I’m really happy for the whole team in particular.”
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