We are less than 60 days away from the top flight calendar starting at the Bahrain Grand Prix, and one of the rookies is none other than Mick Schumacher, son of the legendary seven-time world champion.
Born in Switzerland, but with dual nationality, the German Mick Schumacher will take his seat as one of the rookies of the North American team Haas, next to the Russian Nikita Mazepin, also a rookie. Scion of the German star, the Kaiser who rewrote all F1 records before the Hamilton era, Mick or Schumi Jr. has been simmering in the world of motorsport.
The second son of the Schumacher couple entered the world of karting at the age of three; Five years later, he was already competing in national championships, initially under the pseudonym Mick Betsch, using his mother’s maiden name Corinna, so as not to draw attention or comparisons.
His anonymity was short-lived and soon the rumor spread that a new generation had arrived, as has happened with a series of surnames that have built his lineage in F1: Hill (Graham – two-time champion 1962 and 1978 – and his son Damon – champion 1996—); Villeneuve (Gilles – McLaren and Ferrari driver between 1977 and 1982 – and his son Jacques – 1997 champion); Andretti (Mario – 1978 champion – and his son Michael – 1993 McLaren driver -), Fittipaldi (Emerson – 1972 and 1974 two times champion -, his brother Wilson – Motor Racing Developments driver from 1972 to 1973 and Coper Sucar in 1975 – , and his nephew Christian —Minardi and Footwork, from 1992 to 1994—), or more recently the Piquets (Nelson — tri-champion 1981, 1983 and 1987— and Nelsinho —Renault driver in 2008 and 2009); the Rosbergs (Keke —champion 1982— and Nico —champion 2016—); or Verstappen themselves (Jos —benetton, Tyrrell, Arrows or Minardi driver from 1994 to 2003—, and Max —in Red Bull since 2014—).
However, the Schumacher surname resonates in a special way in F1, as it broke through with Michael, rewriting the books at the time, breaking the famous five-time championship of Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio that lasted 46 years, a mark equaled last season by the English Lewis Hamilton.
Mick has been simmering for current F1 times, preceded by a previous six-year race, with two Formula 4 runners-up, as well as two crowns, one in Formula 3 and one in F2, the latter only achieved in December. He will officially debut in F1 at the age of 22, at the same age as his father did in Jordan and with a similar trail: a driver with a big smile but with the cold blood for millimeter passes, winner. Ferrari has been taking care of his debut as one of its most precious jewels, the driver with whom you cannot go wrong.
The return of the Schumacher name brings a breath of fresh air, new blood, but Mick will live under scrutiny since the engines start on March 26. If he scores points in a mid-table team like Haas, and where coexistence with Mazepin will not be smooth, he has practically a guaranteed place at Ferrari in 2023, putting extra pressure on Spanish Carlos Sainz, because in 2022 his contract expires. Mercedes also commented in the voice of Toto Wolff that “one day he will be part of the team”, a team to which his father also contributed in its construction.
Do not lose sight of this name: Mick Schumacher, who will give more than one surprise.