Mick Schumacher recounts his youth with his famous father but also his great ambitions for the future.
Not always easy to be the son of the greatest Formula 1 champion of all time. Especially when you make your debut in motor sports. It was however the case of Mick Schumacher, son of Michael, seven times world champion of F1 and nephew of Ralf who also conquered several podiums in the queen category of motor sport.
In an open letter for his sponsor, the equipment manufacturer Under Armor, the young German explains how he lived his childhood with the most famous name of motorsport on his shoulders: “At the beginning, I used other names so as not to be recognized. In this way, I was able to progress without being disturbed, without having to carry this label ‘son of'”, he says.
Mick Schumacher thus began his career under the name of Betsch, the surname of his mother.
By his own admission, Mick Schumacher is very much like his father in terms of the winning mentality they have in common: “If you talk with my family and friends, they will all say that I am a bad loser, no matter what the stake: a simple little game, a race to a tree … No matter the challenge, I must win. Obviously, I also experienced defeats and repercussions. It taught me one thing: when you lose, do it with your head held high. With class.”
At just 21, Mick will start his second season in Formula 2 next week but is already brimming with ambition for the future: “I quickly realized that I wanted to become a Formula 1 driver, a champion. At eight, I started in national racing. When I was 11 or 12, I knew I wanted to become a pro.”
“I will not stop until I reach the top. I will run the champagne, laugh and celebrate with my team”, he continued.
And so walk in the footsteps of his father who he does not see as the champion adulated by millions of fans: “People know my father by his great moments and as a celebrity, which I understand very well. The year of my birth, he won the first of his 5 consecutive F1 titles, incredible isn’t it? never saw my father as the best runner in the world. First of all, he is my father. “
What did not prevent him from taking advantage of his precious advice in his youth: “The lessons he taught me are not obvious. One of his lessons was never to be too euphoric or too discouraged. Not even when in 2018, I was only 10th in Formula 3 after 15 races. At that time, I had no doubts, it was going to become my year. I worked and it paid off. We achieved the result we were aiming for at Spa-Francorchamps. Then we won another seven races and the title … “
If he returned to his childhood and the advice provided by his father, Mick Schumacher did not expand on the state of health of the latter, he who according to the rare information that filter would be in a vegetative state since his ski accident in 2013.
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