Tag: Michael Schumacher

‘Not easy being a son of Michael Schumacher’: Rosberg warns Mick ahead of F1 debut | Racing News – Times of India

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BERLIN: Nico Rosberg, himself the son of a former world champion, has warned Mick Schumacher to expect huge media attention when he makes his Formula One debut next week to follow in the footsteps of his father Michael Schumacher.
“It’s not easy to be the ‘son of’. And with Mick, it is 10 times more difficult, because Michael’s era was not so long ago and he was much more successful,” Rosberg, 35, told website Sport1.
Mick Schumacher, who turns 22 on Monday, makes his Grand Prix debut for American team Haas at the season-opening race in Bahrain on March 28.
After winning the Formula Three European championships in 2018 and then the Formula Two title in 2020, Schumacher junior made the step up to Formula One this season.
The German carries one of the most famous surnames in motorsport as the son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, who has not been seen in public since suffering brain injuries in a skiing accident in 2013.
To add to the pressure, Michael Schumacher won the Bahrain Grand Prix in its inaugural Formula One race in 2004.
Schumacher senior went on to win 91 races for Benetton and Ferrari, with five of his world titles coming in the famous red colours of the Italian marque.
Britain’s Lewis Hamilton only surpassed Schumacher’s total of race wins last year with the Mercedes driver bidding to capture an unprecedented eighth world title this season.
Rosberg, 35, retired after being crowned 2016 Formula One world champion, 34 years after his father Keke achieved the feat.
Nico Rosberg predicts Schumacher will have to reckon with media attention in his first year of Formula One that will “probably be even greater than Lewis Hamilton” experienced.
“I hope Mick can put that aside and concentrate well on his job because otherwise it takes a lot of the fun away.”
If the media does not give him time to settle in Formula One, Mick Schumacher “has to take it himself”, advises Rosberg.
“You need time and patience. After all, I had to wait seven years to win my first race and 11 years to win the (Formula One world) title.
“You have to keep that in mind if you want to rate Mick this year.”

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Mick Schumacher Follows His Father to the Letter

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The letters MSC on a Formula One timing screen once charted the dominance of seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher but this season they denote the presence on track of his son Mick. The Ferrari great first took the abbreviation to set himself apart from younger brother Ralf on screens that display the first three letters of a surname, but Mick has his own justification.

After winning the 2020 Formula Two title accompanied by the letters SCH, the third Schumacher to enter the sport asked Formula One — now headed by ex-Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali — to make a change.

“I wanted that MSC,” the 21-year-old Haas driver told reporters during pre-season testing in Bahrain ahead of his F1 race debut there on March 28.

“It’s an emotional bond I have to it. I think it’s quite nice for everybody watching the timing screens and seeing MSC back on the screens as well. I think there’s a positive to it.”

There will be those who expect the famous name to bring its own magic but Mick has shown through the junior series that he is well-grounded.

For him, taking the Schumacher name back onto the starting grid is a source of pride more than pressure.

“I’m very happy to carry that surname, and I’m very happy to carry that name back into Formula One, and I’m very proud of it,” the Swiss-born German said at the launch of his team’s new Ferrari-powered car. “It’s like a boost for me and it gives me motivation every single day.”

Schumacher senior, who has not been seen in public since he suffered severe head injuries in a 2013 skiing accident, made an instant impression when he qualified seventh on his Formula One debut with Jordan in Belgium 30 years ago.

He was snapped up for the next race by rivals Benetton, with whom he won a race in his second season and then championships in 1994 and 1995 before five in a row with Ferrari between 2000-04.

Mick can expect a less dramatic debut with a U.S.-owned team who scored only three points last year and have already made clear that their main focus is on preparing for 2022 when new rules come into play.

The German’s enthusiasm, even when the prospect of a possible year without points is raised, is undimmed.

“I do feel ready, I would go racing tomorrow if it were up to me,” he said. “I cannot tell what is going to happen this season but I know that I will do everything in my toolbox… to hopefully get some points.”

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