Sunday March 28, 2021
“95 percent satisfied”
Schumacher enters F1 with a small victory
A turner takes away the chance of a better result early on, but the Haas couldn’t do much more than 16th place anyway. Mick Schumacher makes a very solid debut in Formula 1. And deserves the praise of a world champion who has already fought his father on the track.
The Formula 1 racing car was already waiting, but Mick Schumacher still had a bit of time before the start – so he summarized the importance of this day himself in a nutshell. “For me, a lifelong dream is now coming true,” said the 22-year-old in Bahrain, jumping into the cockpit a little later, stepping on the gas – and is now officially part of the premier class.
As expected, he did not play a major role in his first race. At the end of the field he gained kilometers and experience in the defeated Haas, first laps and a spin in the initial phase were part of it. In the end, Schumacher took 16th place. His Russian team-mate Nikita Mazepin was eliminated in the first lap. “I take a lot of positive things with me, I’ve learned a lot and had fun. I’m already looking forward to the next race weekend,” said Schumacher at Sky.
The fact that he had Mazepin under control not only in the Grand Prix, but also in qualifying and in the training sessions, is a first small victory for the newcomer. Whereby small is relative in this case, because this small success is probably also the greatest possible this season, which Haas largely donated before the start as a transition year.
“I’m 95 percent satisfied, of course not with my spin at the beginning. But that I was able to finish the race was important to me. Overall, I felt comfortable in the car, I was able to take away a lot of positive things that I can build on.” , he said after his first Grand Prix kilometers.
Four world champions against two Schumachers
Nevertheless, since this weekend, Formula 1 has a new attraction with Schumacher, although the young climber obviously doesn’t want to be that yet. With a lot of work he made it into the premier class, and that’s exactly how he wants to continue. Schumacher has meanwhile emphasized this very often and very credibly: work, learn, get better – that is the plan for the first year. And, so the impression, not to talk about it too much.
A lot is said about the German with the big name, the story is just too good. 30 years after his father, Mick Schumacher is now also contesting his debut season, and like the record world champion, the son also starts under the abbreviation “MSC”. This small detail alone, he says himself, “is very beautiful and very emotional for me”.
And so many other stories almost come naturally. Michael Schumacher drove his last Grand Prix in 2012, back then: Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen – this world champion quartet is still in the cockpit today. “When I think about it, it’s funny,” says the debutant: “That these drivers compete against two generations of Schumacher.”
Not only the father’s former companions, but also numerous other prominent people were asked about the newcomer in Bahrain. And quite a few replied like Toto Wolff did: “It would be best if we wouldn’t talk about Mick at all,” said the Mercedes motorsport director at Sky. Because a lot, maybe too much, is beating down on the rookie at the moment.
“As if he’s been doing it for five years”
However, he met this storm with a lot of calm, a small episode on the eve of the race gave an insight: The grueling first qualifying had just been done when Schumacher was sitting at a small table in the middle of the loud, brightly lit paddock. And played a game of chess to relax.
In general, Schumacher is “very self-confident”, says his team boss Günther Steiner, “everything goes as if he had been doing it for five years. He invested a lot of time to be so prepared.” The end of the field is reserved for Haas this year, that was already clear before the start, the small US racing team uses almost all resources to prepare for the rule revolution in 2022. Then Schumacher wants to deliver.
And if someone doubts the talent of this famous son, then even Kimi Raikkonen becomes clear. “Mick,” says the Finn, who so often doesn’t care about so many things, “is certainly not only in Formula 1 because of his surname.”
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