As a son of a racing legend himself, Carlos Sainz Jr has explained that Mick Schumacher will have had doors open for him for carrying his name, but the Spaniard also added that it adds a lot of pressure.

Carlos Sainz Senior is an icon in the world of rallying. He’s won two WRC titles, and lost out on the third in literally the last 300 yards of the 1998 season as his Toyota Corolla famously broke down in the very last sector of the season.

As the son of such a legend, Sainz Junior explained what Mick Schumacher probably went through in his young racing career.

“At the start of your career, there is a lot of pressure, you can see that with Mick Schumacher,” the Spaniard told Formel1.

“All parents will have told their kids to beat Mick Schumacher first, it was the same for me.”

Schumacher won the Formula 3 title this season after an incredible winning streak in the second half of the season, prompting the media to speculate that the German should be promoted to F1 immediately like Max Verstappen was back in 2015.

“The name Schumacher can open doors for you, but you won’t get to Formula 1 if you don’t win,” Sainz concluded.

Sainz is right about the pressure of being related to a famous name in sports. On some occasions, sons have been able to successfully emulate their fathers. Most notably, Graham Hill and Damon Hill, and Keke Rosberg and Nico Rosberg. However, there have been occasions where the younger generation could not live up to their name. For example, Nelson Piquet and Nelson Piquet Jr, Ayrton Senna and his nephew Bruno Senna, Alain Prost and his son Nico Prost.

Hopefully, Mick truly lives up to his father’s name in terms of pure skill.