The young German driver Mick Schumacher is ready to make his debut in the premier series during the 2021 seasons but admits it will be a dual challenge for him. His goal is proving his worth and build his own way into F1 while also helping Haas developing their car and moving up the grid, following a pretty disappointing 2020.  

Mick Schumacher – who will race for the American team Haas alongside fellow rookie Nikita Mazepin – claims he’s confident that both himself and the team can move forwards but admits it won’t be easy.

“Well, my approach is definitely going to be trying to improve as a racing driver, to try and deliver the best I can,” Schumacher told Motorsport Magazine. “Obviously, it’s going to be challenging, but I’m pretty sure that you know that the team has enough experience to give me the opportunities to develop.

“You always want to eventually improve from A to B, like the beginning of the season to the end of the season. That’s really our aim. And so I’m pretty sure that we’ll manage that well.”

Among the many moves in the drivers market, including Perez’s move to Red Bull and Vettel leaving Ferrari, the arrival of Mick Schumacher at Haas is perhaps the most exciting and anticipated of them all.

Given his famous surname, the eyes of the world will be on him, whatever he does, expectations are pretty high. Will Mick live up to them? Only time will tell.

“It’s clear that I’ve been under a sort of spotlight. I’m able to deal with it pretty well – the results speak”

At the beginning of his racing career, Mick tried to steer himself away from the pressure. He used to race under the pseudonym 'Mick Betsch', i.e. his name paired with his mother's maiden name. This decision was aimed to draw attention away from him because of his dad.

As time passed, however, Mick has matured, worked on improving his qualifying pace and tyre management and was able to prove his worth, not only as “the son of”. After finishing 12th in his debut season in FIA Formula 2, he went on to win the title in 2020.  

The German doesn’t know how his first season in F1 will look like, however, he seems pretty confident: “It’s really hard to say at the moment, but I’m pretty confident that I’ll be able to extract my maximum, and hopefully, I’ll be able to do that every time.”

The young German talent is set to work alongside several figures, who played a major role in his father’s career.

Formula 1 newly-appointed CEO Stefano Domenicali, FIA president Jean Todt and F1 managing director Ross Brawn all played a crucial role at Ferrari during Michael Schumacher’s championship-winning years and all three have supported and advised Mick ahead of his debut in 2021. The young Schumacher admitted that he is grateful for their insights and knows he can always count on them for advice.

“Obviously, all three have been a great part of my dad’s career, and also have been of mine,” Schumacher told Motorsport Magazine.

“It’s great to see them all succeed so well in the sport and also do well aside from being team bosses or involved in teams.

“And obviously Jean is FIA president, Ross and Stefano are working in F1 now. So it’s great to also understand how they see the sport, how they see where the sport is going to be developing, and really where the sport is going. I know I will always fall back on them if I have any doubts.”

As per the team, Haas has endured a pretty tough 2020 season, relegated at the back of the grid and only scoring three points. Nevertheless, Mick remains hopeful that their pace and performance can improve.

“We have a super experienced team, super experienced people, a lot of very talented people as well working for Haas F1 team,” the German commented. “So I’m not afraid at all that they will all work very well together, and hopefully improve the car as much as we can.”