Mick Schumacher....FORMULA 1 DRIVER

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Mick Schumacher: «I learned to live lightly. Comparisons with dad help me grow "

Michael's son at the F1 exam with Haas: «I watch old videos to study overtaking, Vettel is a reference. He told me: "Be yourself" "

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«I feel ready to face the first year of F1 (he will drive Haas, ed ), I think it is a necessary state of mind to face what is coming towards you. Up to now I have tried to understand as much as possible, to give correct answers. But I know I'm far from a complete understanding of the machine. The tests are for this, even if you have to learn many things in a short time ».

Sweet and polite; determined and reserved. Mick Schumacher has boyish ways of yesteryear. Never a gesture, an attitude out of place. Enough to deserve, along with his F1 debut, respect and admiration also from those who will race against him in 2021. You look at it, you listen to it, and the phrase of Mufasa, the Lion King, evoked by the young Simba, his son, in the Disney film comes to mind: "Remember who you are." It is a lesson that Mick must have learned at the dawn of a path more charged with responsibility than privilege. A high intensity journey.


Joys and sufferings. Do they both serve to get stronger?
“It is difficult for me to answer this question. What happened has determined a form, a way of being, it made me become the person I am. But this happens to each of us, I think. The definition of a character, of a personality, is the fruit of an intimate experience that goes through different, specific feelings and events. Every man or woman looks for answers to their questions. The same happened for me ».


He chose Sebastian Vettel as a reference. What was the most valuable advice he gave you?
"Be yourself. Trust yourself. Don't be afraid to show yourself for what you are ».

There are many talented pilots of his generation. Is there anyone you particularly admire?
«Each of them shows a specific talent, built along an individual path. I observe them. I admire those who are able to show their qualities and I always think I can learn from each of them ».

Many sons of champion fathers feel the need to free themselves from a heavy inheritance by winning. Is this the same for you?
"No. I have never had a problem when my father Michael is remembered, when looking for a comparison. I believe that having to deal with a relevant figure is an honor and a stimulus. For me it means commitment, trying to give my best, if possible, I don't experience all this heavily ».

References to his father Michael are ongoing. There is much less talk about the strength, courage, dedication of her mother Corinna ...
«It's true. I consider her the best mother in the world . His example was fundamental for me ».

He has a habit of reviewing past races. What do you look for when looking at old GPs?
«The most authentic and profound meaning of some moments that have marked the history of racing. Time changes machines and dynamics but there is always the opportunity to discover something that has affected the following chapters. In the development of a complex sport like ours, many valuable things can be identified. Today the gestures, the techniques, the approaches are the result of what belongs to the past. I am particularly interested in overtaking. To the techniques and style of overtaking ».

He is 21 years old. Is it difficult to control your emotions?
«I grew up in a particular context, every rider has a long time of training and competitions behind them. Motorsport requires learning a kind of code, getting used to a number of typical situations. I adapted, I tried to apply rationality to every challenge because the consequences of your behavior are decisive. In what terms do you verify it in the days, months and years that follow? "


Verstappen is convinced that many would win as much as Hamilton with Mercedes. Agree?
“When we look at a champion that dominates an entire era, there is the risk of neglecting something important. The enormous work it requires, how relevant are the resources, energy and talent applied by that champion who then wins. The speech is as valid for Hamilton as it is for my father. There is nothing random about great success. It is an iceberg, of which we often only see the tip emerging from the water ».

Jean Todt, Stefano Domenicali, Ross Brawn, Mattia Binotto . They are people related to his family. Who do you feel closest to?
“Each of them. People who worked with dad made up a great sporting story. For me it is a privilege to listen to them, to feel their presence ».

Letter to Santa Claus. What do you ask?
“I haven't written it yet. But I'm super happy, I've already had a lot. I would like him to give everyone a happy Christmas. I sincerely hope so


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What kind of results would be necessary for you to consider Mick's 2021 campaign a success? Or is it simply more subjective than that?

Kevin

 

Let's see how Mick fares in comparison to his teammate, Nikita Mazepin. Haas is fielding a young team next season, so making intra-team "progress" (however one defines that) might be a good place to start.

 

HAAS 5th in WCC ! well maybe 6th.

 

Mick comes over as a decent and considered young man. I wish him good luck for next year.

 

Is it just me or does Mick seem too nice to be a great F1 driver?

 

Sounds like he agrees with Max, including an inference that his Dad's success was due in large part to the car and team.

 

We'll see - but a polished attitude in interview does not have to translate to a shy behaviour on track.

 

I didn't follow his career very closely, but I saw him on go-karts when he raced as "Mick Junior", after racing a few years with his mother's surname in Germany. My conclusions so far:

1- His greatest strength in consistency. Because he only raced with the very top equipment, ie,Tony Kart and Prema, he never had to push too hard to overcome technical diffilculties or having a slow car. Therefore not crashing and most always scoring points helped him a lot. During most of his F3 season he clearly was not a match to Dan Ticktum, but in the end, all of a sudden, his car and his teammate's got incredibly faster, helping him clinch the title.

2- He is definitely not as fast or as talented as some young drivers such as Leclerc, Norris, Russell, or Verstappen. This is very clear to me. Both of his championship winnings in F3 and F2 came after weak first seasons. In karting, which I follow more closely, he was good but definetly couldn't match the top drivers at the time, whereas Lec, Nor, Rus, and Ver are European/World/WSK champions.

1-) and 2-) above match what we saw this year: zero pole-positions and only two wins, but scoring points most of the time.

 

Spot on Flavio. I am thinking Mick's debut will not be a 'mad Max' debut where he is immediately extremely fast, but somewhat of a ticking time bomb on the track. For a while there I could have seen Max losing his seat as he caused or was somehow involved in as many wrecks as Maldonado was. I do not see that happening with Mick, but I don't see him being as immediately quick either. Some forget, but old man Schumacher was very good in sports car racing but arguably not the fastest. It was only when Michael got the F1 seat that he was a duck in water. This is why we watch.


That all said, I miss Fast Ian here.....

 

It looks to me that Mick Schumacher is not the flamboyant type, but takes his time to learn the ropes.
He progressed slowly through the ranks in F3 and F2 before reaching the front.
It seems that his cautious approach early on pays dividends given time.
It could be the same in F1.
He probably won't very fast out of the box, but will probably learn to extract the best out of his car, given that the Haas is certainly not the best.

 

Indeed, that's what is intriguing about his father: his career prior to F1 was pretty average, but he came to become one of the GOATs. Let's see what will happen...

 

It should be a steady first year for Mick in comparison with his team mate.
Nothing banzai straight out of the box like his father.

Today's cars are now so refined there is less opportunity to hustle, it's principally about tyre management.

 

Schumacher is at Haas to prepare for Ferrari seat - Binotto

Mick Schumacher has the chance to race for Haas in 2021 because Ferrari believes he has the potential to represent the Scuderia in future, according to team principal Mattia Binotto.


Haas has signed Schumacher and fellow rookie Nikita Mazepin as its 2021 driver line-up. The German secured the Formula 2 championship shortly after his promotion was confirmed, adding to the European F3 title he claimed two years earlier, and Binotto said that he views the 21-year-old’s Haas deal as a stepping stone toward a future in Maranello.

“Mick Schumacher will be one of the drivers for Haas next year, which for us is a great opportunity, showing the strength of collaboration we’ve got,” Binotto said. “Mick is part of our FDA (Ferrari Drivers Academy) and the FDA program is not there to develop drivers for F1, but it’s there to develop drivers that one day may drive a Ferrari seat, a red car.


“When you move from F2 and jump into F1, the very first year cannot be a directly into a red car because that would be too much responsibility and not enough experience. So knowing that we’ve got customer teams or partners on which we may count to continue developing our drivers in F1 is an important element.”

As part of Schumacher’s development, veteran engineer Jock Clear will work with the rookie as well as the other members of Ferrari’s Driver Academy to try and help them along their learning curves.

“Jock is a great person, a great professional who has been in Ferrari for many years,” Binotto said. “His role in 2020 was driver coach – an engineer who is supporting the drivers in order to perform in terms of driving to their best; looking at the lines, look at the way they are braking, through the corner, accelerating, managing tires… to make sure that the driver is developing well.

“We had some chats with Jock in the past weeks. We would like to develop him some more as a driver coach not only for Charles, but looking ahead to the future to all of our young driver line-up that we’ve got in the Ferrari Driver Academy. So next year we’ve got Mick in Haas starting his experience in F1, but we’ve still got young drivers competing in F2 – for example Robert – or Callum Ilott, who will be our test driver next year who still will do the simulator and free practices.

“So the role of Jock will be to assist all these drivers to develop themselves as drivers and try to exploit the most of their potential.”

https://racer.com/2020/12/29/schumacher-is-at-haas-to-prepare-for-ferrari-seat-binotto/

 

Beating your teammate both qualis and races will be a good start.

 

Ferrari now sounds totally corporate, full of PR and BS. Instead of doing their job and building a winning car, they hire the son of their most successful driver and use that to get the team some media points. Nothing against young Schumacher...he'll give it his best and a lot of fans will be cheering for him to succeed. And history writes that being "the son" has usually proven to be a rocky road. But good luck to Mick.