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The pressure Mick Schumacher has to deal with when he joins F1… eventually

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Mick Schumacher. Image: Instagram / Mick Schumacher
Mick Schumacher. Image: Instagram / Mick Schumacher

It can't be easy living in the shadows of a great name. Not to mention if that figure is your father!

That is what Mick, son of legendary Formula 1 driver, Michael Schumacher, has to deal with. Young Mick has been groomed from an early stage to resume the duties his father would leave behind.

It's near unsurpassable pressure that accompanies such a task, and the boy, at the time, probably had no idea of what would be in store for him. Yet, he continued racing and would climb the ranks and pass each category to where he is now: racing in Formula 2, the feeder series to F1.

But here's the thing. Schumacher is being groomed to one day drive for Ferrari. As a member of the team's young driver program, and being the son of Ferrari's favourite driver, it is somewhat assumed that he'll don the red overalls in the future.

We have to ask, though, is he ready?


What are the chances of Mick Schumacher teaming up with Charles Leclerc in future? Email us.

A 2020 debut?

Schumacher's uncle Ralf, Michael's brother, came out in May, saying that he predicts that his nephew could make the jump to F1 in 2020. It's a bold claim, but one that does carry merit.

If Mick is to make the switch to the pinnacle of motorsport and remains in the Ferrari family, he will likely join the Alfa Romeo team - replacing either Kimi Raikkonen or Antonio Giovinazzi. Impossible? Not likely, because, as experts put it, Raikkonen could call time on his career at any moment, and Giovinazzi is neither fast or consistent.

With these two variables in place, is this an opportunity for Mick Schumacher to make it to the big league? Definitely! Just because the opportunity is there doesn't necessarily mean that he is ready for it.

Something to prove

Mick has the most famous surname in all of motorsport, but it does not mean that everything will be handed to him on a silver platter. While his progress in F2 has been okay-ish, there are still questions regarding his technique and skill.

Last year, driving for a Prema team that is a shell of what it once was, Schumacher secured his first F2 victory at the Hungarian GP. Unfortunately, he never followed that up, despite showing glimpses of brilliance in other races. The first half of his 2019 season wasn't that good, but the second was a lot better, which included the win in Hungary.

READ: Could Mick Schumacher make a mid-season F1 debut in 2020?

He also had a taste of F1 when, during in-season testing, he drove the Alfa Romeo F1 car. Though fastest laps and higher average speeds are not necessarily top priorities, the fact that he's a Schumacher meant that there was an expectation that he'd be top of the pile.

When racing resumes and Formula 2 gets underway, Mick Schumacher has to prove that he is deserving of a seat in F1. In all likelihood, he has a better chance of joining Alfa Romeo in 2021 when Raikkonen quits, or Giovinazzi's contract is not renewed. And who knows, he might partner Leclerc in 2023…

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