Schumacher sees legendary F1 surname as 'motivation, not pressure'
Mick Schumacher insists being the son of seven-time champion Michael Schumacher and carrying the 'Schumacher' name doesn't bring any additional pressure with it as he embarks on his own Formula 1 career in 2021.
After claiming the Formula 2 title last year, Schumacher makes the step up to F1 with Haas alongside fellow rookie and F2 rival Nikita Mazepin.
While he is the son of one of F1's greatest ever drivers, Schumacher only sees it as a motivation, not a burden.
“I have never said that it was pressure, I don’t think I’ll ever say it,” Schumacher said. “I’m very happy to carry that surname and very happy to carry that name back into F1. I’m very proud of it, I’m happy to have it. It’s like a boost for me and it gives me motivation every single day to work as much as I can and as hard I can.”
Schumacher was only confirmed as a Haas driver in December but the German says he already has a “very strong bond” with the American outfit which he believes will be key to dealing with the mental pressures a 23-race F1 season brings.
“Definitely there are a few different factors, obviously for me the biggest one which I’ve done already is you want to have a very strong bond to the team, that’s what I aim for and I have, which I’m very happy about that,” Schumacher added. “That’s one of the strengths, and being as mentally strong as we can be in every situation is really important. Then basically just starting off the season on a high and hopefully we’ll be able to carry through everything I’ve learned in my past years and perform in a high level of what we need.”
Haas launched its VF-21 on Thursday morning where it will sport a Russian-themed livery in the colours of new sponsor Uralkali.
Speaking about the new livery, Schumacher said: “Well it’s the team colours, and I think the car looks great. I think it looks beasty, it looks feisty and definitely that’s how we’re going to approach the season too. We’re going to work our way through and work very strongly on ourselves and on the car. Hopefully they will be able to get every single performance out of it that we need.”
