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Schumacher on name change: It gave me the opportunity to learn at my own pace

Schumacher on name change: "It gave me the opportunity to learn at my own pace"

18-10-2019 15:09 Last update: 15:40
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Louis Shaw

Editor

Mick Schumacher has a massive name attached to him. His father, Michael Schumacher, is the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time winning seven World Championships. Many would find the pressure too much but the young racer feels that having the Schumacher name is an advantage. 

However, early on in his career, Mick Schumacher raced under his mother's maiden name to try and limit his exposure to the press. He now races under his real name and believes it is an advantage. 

"I'd say it's more of an advantage to me," he said to the Road to F1 podcast. "Before I drove the Formula series, I always used my mother's name or 'junior'. This caused the hype to be crushed a little and gave me time to develop. From the moment I drove the Formula's, it was a good time to consider putting my real name on the car.

"Did I drive with more freedom when I had my mother's name on the car? I wouldn't call it that. When photos were taken, I was always the person who kindly asked if they wouldn't like to do that so that we could guard the privacy. It also gave me the opportunity to learn at my own speed. That was very positive for me."

Schumacher's career is progressing well and he believes that the name change worked well. 

"It worked very well for me. I had a couple of interesting first few weekends with a victory in Formula 4 in my first race weekend: It doesn't get much better than that. Then in the three races after that there were two crashes; A special start. In the second year with Prema we proved that it was just awful for me, after which we took it to the next level."

He will hope to continue his development and one day follow in his father's footsteps and make it to Formula 1.