Mick Schumacher aims for an F1 seat
MICK SCHUMCHER does not mind being compared with his famous father Michael as he takes the next step towards a possible Formula One career.
“I am happy when I am compared with my father. He is my idol, and it his him I look up to,” the 19-year-old has said.
Mick Schumacher will get even more attention this year when he moves up from winning the European F3 title into Formula Two, the last category below the elite series Michael Schumacher won a record seven times.
The looks, the stride, the voice, many feel reminded of the young Michael Schumacher when they encounter the son. Mick Schumacher is even more admired since his father disappeared from the public view after suffering grace head injuries in a skiing accident five years ago.
But he remains relaxed about all the attention.
“It was always like that. It is normal for me. If you take someone who isn’t used to it and put him in my position it may be different. But I had time to grow into it. That helped me a lot,” he said.
The Formula Three title in 2018 showed that he can live with the hype but that will still grow, given that Formula Two races are contested as part of Formula One weekends.
“He is a fantastic young man. The way he is balanced also shows how (well) the whole family handles it. There not even a remote sign of arrogance or over-the-top self-confidence in Mick,” former Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug said.
Haug knows what he is talking about as he was close to Michael Schumacher when he was a young talent some 30 years ago.
Managed by Sabine Kehm, who has also looked after his father in this respect, Mick Schumacher seems better prepared of what is to come.
But like his father he started off on kart tracks – under his mother’s maiden name or as ‘Mick Junior’ to avoid any hype – and it was a stunning coincidence that Mick won his first F3 race at Spa-Francorchamps, the Belgian course where Michael made his F1 debut in 1991 for Jordan and won his first race a year later.
“If that was a Hollywood script you wouldn’t believe it,” Haug said, adding that the F3 title only highlights his big talent.
“You don’t do that if the sun shines into your exhaust but because you can handle the accelerator pedal and the steering wheel well,” Haug said.
After the F3 title the question is no longer if but rather when Mick Schumacher steps into Formula One.
Michael Schumacher’s former teams Mercedes and Ferrari are both hugely interested as reigning reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton – who took Schumacher’s place at Mercedes in 2013 – said Mick “has huge talent just as his father had.”
Hamilton is contracted another two years in which he could equal Schumacher’s seven world titles, and it is not out of the question that the Briton would race against the son.
Mick Schumacher has given no time frame, saying only he wants to be “100 per cent ready” when he takes the step into F1.
Other sons of famous drivers have been in F1, including Nico Rosberg who won the title in 2016, just as his father Keke Rosberg in the past.
“It is quite difficult when the whole of Germany looks at you. It is very important for him that he doesn’t lose the joy of driving,” Rosberg said about Mick Schumacher.
Nico Rosberg took 11 years to win the title, and he retired right after it at the young age of 31.
The only other father-son world champions so far are Britons Graham and Damon Hill. But many F1 fans will be hoping that one day the Schumachers join this list.
Micahel Scumacher is the most successful driver in the history of F1, and holds the records for the most titles (7), and most Grand Prix wins (91). | dpa