Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Some might think it is easy for the son of one of the most famous drivers of the century to just rest on his laurels, but the race has just begun for Mick Schumacher as the young German prepares to get a head start on his F1 career this weekend in Abu Dhabi.
On Sunday, the young Schumacher took home his first F2 title - a crowning crescendo to a weekend in which his deal with F1 team Haas was announced.
Schumacher could not wait until next year to start racing in an F1 car and will be driving for Haas in the first practice session at the F1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
While some may say his 18th place finish in Sunday’s race may be a less-than-iconic way to take home the trophy, the German’s achievements throughout the season put him out of reach of most of the drivers in the league.
“I cannot deny I would have wished to win this championship in a different way, but now I just don’t care and am just happy,” the driver said, after accepting his championship trophy.
“I will think about all the ‘ifs and whys’ at a later stage, because still we managed to achieve this title and this is all that counts now.”
Of course, an F1 car is nothing new for someone carrying the Schumacher name but the 21-year-old in particular has grown up around the roars of super powered engines.
His father first introduced him to an F1 car when he was just a year old, amidst Michael Schumacher’s iconic run which earned him seven world championships, a record only matched this year by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.
The name can also be a burden, and to avoid the fanfare early in his career, the young driver raced under the pseudonym, ‘Mick Betsch’ adopting his mother’s maiden name.
He successfully raced in Formulas 4, 3 and 2, and his every turn and trophy has been deconstructed and analysed.
Incidentally, he went on to make his F1 debut at the Bahrain International Circuit, taming Scuderia Ferrari’s SF90 beast amidst a wet training session.
Schumacher will start his two-year Haas contract in 2021, racing under the number 47.
When asked about it, he said: “Basically, it’s a bit of a funny mix of things but I think primarily, it’s because four and seven are two of the numbers that I really like.
“Obviously four because I won the F3 championship racing under it and the seven because it is a number that everyone in my family really likes, not just because of my father’s victory record.
“As both of them were taken, I think 47 was the best choice. There was also the fact that if we summed up all the birthdays of our family together it would equal 47.
“So it was a pretty nice feature to it and I think it just underlined that we should choose that number.”
