Sebastian Vettel says Mick Schumacher should be judged on his own abilities and not constantly compared to his seven-times champion father.
Schumacher will perform a demonstration run in a Ferrari F2004, of the type Michael Schumacher used to win his final title, during the German Grand Prix weekend. However Vettel says the Formula 2 driver should not be rushed into F1 or put under too much pressure.“It’s crucial that he’s given the time he needs,” said Vettel. “I think it’s fair to judge him and his racing like every one of us has been judged and will be judged. But it’s not right to measure and compare too much to other people and to his father. I don’t think it’s fair.”
Vettel credits Michael Schumacher for Formula 1’s popularity in Germany, which he says will put his son under significant pressure.
“Michael was the one who set off a huge hype when we were kids and therefore the name Schumacher is one hundred percent known in Germany due to him.
“Obviously to have Mick at the doorstep of F1 and one day hopefully joining would be huge and hopefully a big boost for Germany. On top of that, despite the name, he’s a great guy, he’s a nice kid so I think our fingers are crossed for him.”
Mick Schumacher has already tested Vettel’s Ferrari SF90 and an Alfa Romeo F1 car this year. “Hopefully he gets the chance one day and does well and brings some more enthusiasm,” Vettel added.
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d0senbrot (@d0senbrot)
26th July 2019, 9:51
Wow, what a flood of Vettel statements on here. But finally one that I agree with.
Chaitanya
26th July 2019, 11:22
I dont agree with this one, most sons/daughters are always compared to their parents and it gets worse if both children and kids are in same field. If anything only thing Mick can do is keep his head down and perform to best of his abilities.
JohnH (@johnrkh)
26th July 2019, 11:19
I posted something onlong those lines a while ago. Young Schumacher can only be and should only be judged on his performance against his peers.
Robbie (@robbie)
26th July 2019, 12:10
You, Vettel et al are right, but that won’t stop comparisons from inevitably happening anyway. I’m pretty sure it has always happened with father/son situations, at least initially until the sons establish themselves in F1 and it becomes old news with the media and fans.
bukester (@bukester)
26th July 2019, 11:56
Ralf Schumacher is rarely mentioned
Robbie (@robbie)
26th July 2019, 12:10
Half Schumacher?
pSynrg (@psynrg)
26th July 2019, 12:28
@bukester His uncle? See how that worked out for Bruno Senna…
kpcart
26th July 2019, 13:35
Ralf got 6 f1 wins. Pretty decent.
anon
27th July 2019, 9:07
@bukester, there was, of course, the supreme irony that, just as Michael’s son Mick beat Dan Ticktum in one Formula 3 series, when Ticktum went to compete in the Asian Formula 3 series in his failed attempt to get superlicence points, he ended up being beaten by Ralf’s son David as well.
Ben Needham (@ben-n)
26th July 2019, 12:17
I get the sentiment, but I actually disagree. This is a sport. Michael Schumacher was one of the best ever in the sport, so every aspiring driver, not just his son, should be looking to be compared to him. If a driver isn’t approaching Formula One with the ambition to win races and titles then he/she shouldn’t bother. Comparisons are natural; Vettel to Hamilton, Hakkinen to Schumacher, Alonso to Raikkonen. It’s the only way to work out who the cream really is.
Robbie (@robbie)
26th July 2019, 12:27
That’s true, but I think the sentiment here is pressure shouldn’t be heaped on Mick (Jacques, Nico, Max) because they are not their fathers, they are their own unique people. I know in JV’s case when he started racing in his youth in Japan he was expected to win (by media and fans) because of his name. He said of that, that it taught early on how to handle pressure and also how to be his own person for there was no way he could fill his Dad’s shoes in the same way, as again, these are all individuals come the end of the day. I think at a minimum the name recognition is inevitable, and here we have Vettel at the same time hoping Mick’s name will bring popularity of F1 back to Germany.
Ben Needham (@ben-n)
26th July 2019, 13:07
@robbie – absolutely, I understand the sentiment. In many ways though, the pressure is the flip-side of the “easy” route through the junior categories they have due to their name. Some racing offspring are clearly talented enough in their own right (Max Verstappen, Nico Rosberg) and arguably better than their parent, but others would not have got so far without the benefit of their surname (Nelsinho Piquet and Bruno Senna perhaps). It’s unclear which category Mick Schumacher falls into, but it’s clear his ride is easier because of his surname (the Ferrari test so early in his career etc.). The pressure is the price he must pay for it and rightly so, in my opinion.
All junior drivers should be expected to win, famous father or not. If Mick Schumacher isn’t winning races in Formula 2, I have no interest in seeing him in Formula 1 simply because his dad was a legend.
(I should caveat this by saying that I hope Mick Schumacher is good enough to get to Formula 1, but if he’s not, I don’t want him forced through “because surname”).
hobo (@hobo)
26th July 2019, 14:47
@ben-n – Agree with this entirely. Especially the ‘other side of the coin’ description.
[TR]
26th July 2019, 12:18
Wait, is this suddenly “F1 Wars”?
Vettel: “Mick, I am your father.”
That headline… :D
On Vettel’s statement, yeah, I agree. But at the same time, it’s sort of inevitable. We’ll all do it at some point, no doubt.
Oxnard (@montalvo)
26th July 2019, 12:52
Well, let’s judge him on his performance this year; below average. Doesn’t really deserve the media attention he is getting.
kpcart
26th July 2019, 13:34
Let’s judge him against the other formula 2 opposition… So far not so good. He might not make it to F1 ever because of superlicence points needed. The problem for mick Schumacher is he is on recorded saying he feels f1 is his destiny, like he is entitled over other drivers. He should be saying he wants to drive as best he can and get the best results from whatever car he is in, which he isn’t doing now. I think ferrari made a mistake giving him a far too early f1 test over other better drivers, the publicity generated was bad for all involved.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
29th July 2019, 6:38
This also happened to Vettel, he was called Baby Schumacher, etc.
Every driver properly German is compared to Schumacher if they are any good. This is what F1 Media do.
Mick has almost nothing to do with his father in the way he drives, times are 30 years different. He went quite well in F3, but who knows what he’ll be able to do with this mysterious Pirelli rubber in F2. Maybe he’ll be always bad in F2 and only good in F1, saddly these two categories do not correlate well. Look at Vandorne as a recent example, dominant in F2, nothing special in F1. Or an astonishing amount of F3 drivers that went straight to F1 and did juts fine.