Mick Schumacher, son of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher, has revealed that he still uses advice given to him by his father, who shares the all-time F1 record with Lewis Hamilton as a seven-time champion.
Michael suffered life-changing injuries in a skiing accident in the French Alps in December 2013, and details of his condition have been closely guarded ever since.
Mick, who was only 14 at the time of his father’s accident, pursued his dream of reaching F1 without his father’s guidance. He raced with Haas for two seasons before becoming a reserve driver for Mercedes, the team his father came out of retirement to race for between 2010 and 2012.
In a new book ‘Inside Mercedes F1’, author Matt Whyman, who had unrestricted access to the team, includes a conversation with Mick about his father’s influence.
“I was a crazy kid – everything my dad did, I did,” he told Wyatt. “I started karting aged three. I was six when I first went scuba diving. Aged 10 I was skydiving. My dad was always very open to me trying out whatever I wanted to do and racing is all I wanted to do, because I enjoyed it the most.”
“He was really supportive and a lot of fun, but could also be challenging. One time in a karting race I braked very late going into a corner and gained a lot of time. When I told him about it, he said, ‘Yes, but you should have braked like that in every corner!’
“Whenever he felt like I was not taking it seriously, he would say, ‘Mick, would you rather go and play football with your friends? If so, we do not need to do all of this’. I insisted that I wanted to race and he said, ‘Okay, then let’s do it properly’. So we started doing more European karting and I was getting better.”
With one of motorsport’s legends deeply involved in his upbringing, Mick enjoyed a distinct edge over his competitors as he progressed through the ranks.
Things turned upside down when tragedy struck – though his father remains a key figure, his advice and guidance were curtailed after the accident. “Then my dad had his accident,” Mick said.
