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Mick Schumacher Certain His Surname and Father’s Legacy Not Enough to Reach F1

Published 03/20/2020, 2:03 PM EDT

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In Formula One’s near 70-year history, there have been occasions where driver families of different generations raced in the sport. Graham Hill and Damon Hill became the first father-son duo to become world champions. Closely following them were Keke Rosberg and Nico Rosberg. Now, it won’t be long before the Schumacher name returns to F1, this time with Mick Schumacher.

Michael and his brother Ralf, raced in Formula One for a while, with the former being a lot more successful. This time, Michael’s son Mick will be eager to enter the top flight, with Ralf’s son David, not far behind. However, he acknowledged that he won’t be treated like racing royalty, and needs to earn his place in Formula 1.

The 20-year-old attracted plenty of eyeballs in 2018 when he won the European F3 championship. That was enough to earn him a promotion to F2 with Prema in 2019.

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Later in the season, Scuderia Ferrari recruited him to their Academy. Sadly, Schumacher’s F2 debut season ended up as a disappointing campaign, though he displayed occasional flashes of his potential.

What next for Mick Schumacher?

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Owing to his average F1 performance, Schumacher Jr is under a lot of pressure to challenge for the 2020 title.

“I am aware that if I want to become a Formula 1 driver, I have to perform well in junior categories such as Formula 2,” he admitted to Argentinian publication Infobae. “No junior driver reaches F1 because their last name matters and that [reaching F1] is not a guarantee.”

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Fortunately for Mick Schumacher, a seat at Alfa Romeo is a strong possibility owing to his status as a Ferrari Academy driver. However, the German youngster is choosing not to dwell on his future in Formula One.

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As the son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, Mick’s performance could always earn extra scrutiny. It is also worth noting that he will always face comparisons to his father.

However, he insists that the comparisons will not faze him at all while his racing career runs its course. Instead, he admitted that he is flattered to earn such high praise. In 2020, Mick Schumacher is expected to race for the Prema Racing Formula 2 team alongside Robert Shwartzman, thought he coronavirus has halted proceedings.

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Written by:

Dhruv George

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
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