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Mick Schumacher has no Plan-B because Plan-A is working fine

07.12.2019

From the moment young Mick Schumacher decided motor racing was to be his career, it might have been predestined that he would one day drive in Formula 1 and, by all accounts, that day is getting nearer.

The 20-year-old son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher burst onto the F1 radar when he won the 2018 Formula 3 Championship. He was soon signed up by the Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA) and has just come off his first season in Formula 2 with solid, if unspectacular results.

In retrospect, he appears to have ticked all the boxes and, poignantly, Ferrari granted him his first F1 test in April earlier this year. He ended that day second quickest, only bettered by Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.

At the same time, the Ferrari connection is inevitable, after all his father won five F1 world titles in Red and is responsible for the greatest successes the Scuderia has ever enjoyed.

In a wide-ranging and in-depth interview with Motorsport Magazine, Schumacher junior explained, "I feel drawn to Ferrari. I grew up with them and have always driven for Italian teams with the exception of one season.

"Even early on, when I was in karting, I drove for Tony Kart in a completely Italian team. The only year I haven’t worked with Italians was in 2015 when I competed in Formula 4 with Van Amersfoort. I’m back now with Italians once again at Prema. The passion they have for motorsport is just terrific.

"You appreciate that all the more at Ferrari. Walking around Maranello or Fiorano feels really special. It’s just one big happy family. You feel good when you’re there, part of the Ferrari family."

With Michael in the shadows since his 2013 skiing accident, young Schumie has counted on the driver his father once mentored - Sebastian Vettel - who in turn has been a guiding light for his fellow German.

Mick acknowledged, "I’ve got a great deal of respect for [Vettel]. We talk a lot about motorsport. I try to get tips from him and put them into practice. He’s been in the sport quite a few more years than me, so every conversation we have helps.

"I think what my Dad was to Sebastian, he is for me, someone that I’m close to, with whom I can talk about motorsport."

As reigning F3 Champion and the pressure of his name, there were big expectations when Mick stepped up to F2 with Prema this year but, in a season packed with quality drivers, he finished 12th and the consensus among pundits was he needed another year in the F1 feeder series.

He recalled his rookie season in the second-tier of the sport, "I sometimes think, oh shit, but also know that it’s a learning process. The hard times make us stronger.

"If we can manage to turn things around so that it works out positive for us in the end, then we’ve learned more than if everything had gone well right from the start. If at some point, you join Formula 1 and then suddenly find that nothing’s going right, then the pressure is enormous.

"These are situations that can completely break a driver. However, the person who has been through it all before and has overcome hard times is inured to it and can handle the situation better, in my opinion."

Mick's story of karting under a false name, deliberately keeping off the radar as he slogged his way up the traditional 'ladder' to the top of the sport, is well told by a youngster who never thought or dreamt of an alternative to racing for his career.

He revealed, "Funnily enough, I was just talking about precisely that recently with a friend. What if we were not allowed to pick a job that had anything to do with motors. I didn’t come up with anything.

"I’ve always been around engines and always will be. But what about a Plan-B, you ask? Plan-A is working out just fine for me!" added Schumie junior who know that nothing less than the 2020 F2 title will be a disappointment. (Report by Roy Franco)

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