The name Schumacher, a blessing and a curse
As the son of the most successful Formula 1 driver of all time, it will never be easy for Mick Schumacher to step out of his famous father's shadow. His achievements will always be compared to his father's and he had to learn to deal with accusations that he owes his successes solely to that surname many years ago.
In that respect, having a famous father is a disadvantage, but it has certainly paid off, especially financially. For several years now, the German has been appearing on camera with a well-known logo on his cap. The logo of Deutsche Vermögensberatung, which was also Michael's personal sponsor for many years.
His surname must have given him a push in the right direction financially and the cooperation with Ferrari is not a coincidence. This gave Mick the chance to prove himself in the junior classes, but to make it to Formula 1 he had to prove himself on the track and because of his surname he was judged extra strictly.
Start-up problems prove typical for Schumacher
The results were not spectacular from the start. He competed well in karting and achieved several places of honour in major championships, but always fell just short of a title. At national, European and world level, he always just missed out on the most important prizes.
Mick had proven that he was fast, however, and so in 2015 he made the switch. He made his debut in the ADAC Formula 4 with the Dutch Van Amersfoort Racing. In his first race weekend at Oschersleben, he immediately won a race, but the rest of the season was downright mediocre. He even finished behind Lando Norris in the final standings, while the Briton only participated in three of the eight race weekends.
It wasn't until his second season in F4 that the ball started rolling, a slow start that would affect him more in the following years. He switched to the Prema Powerteam and raced in both the German and Italian championships. In both championships he won five races and finished second in the standings. He lost out to Joey Mawson and Marcos Siebert.
Crucial first Formula 3 title
Here you can say that his surname did help him, because while we never heard from Mawson and Siebert again, Schumacher was able to make the switch to Formula 3 for Prema. Here too, he had a difficult start. While Lando Norris became champion, Schumacher did not reach the podium once and ended the season in twelfth place.
Schumacher was given time to mature by Prema and a year later he rewarded them for their patience. After another difficult start, a string of victories in the second half of the season in 2017 saw him finally win his first race title by a wide margin. A title that probably saved his career.
In Formula 2, this process repeated itself. A poor first season was followed up by winning the title in 2020. He did so with only two wins, but proved again that he is a solid driver once he feels at home in a car. It earned him a spot in Formula 1 with the Haas team.
Schumacher makes Formula 1 debut
There, a great challenge awaited him from the first Grand Prix. Haas had struggled to produce a competitive car in the previous two seasons and decided not to develop the 2021 car before the season began.
The focus for Haas was therefore on the new 2022 regulations from the outset. This did not bode well for the team's two rookies. They spent much of the season at the back of the grid, but as expected, Schumacher stood out from teammate Mazepin.
Mick Schumacher in 2022
The young German has yet to score any points, but given the material at his disposal, he cannot be blamed for that. Haas is one of the few teams to have turned its undivided attention to the upcoming Formula One season. It resulted in a difficult 2021 season, but could create a good basis for Schumacher to grab his first points in 2022.
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