#f1testing

🔴 Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets as the second day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit came to a close – the Ferrari driver leading the way from McLaren’s Lando Norris and Haas’ Ollie Bearman.

Puro pinche Checo Pérez 🚬🚬

Seb: I'm too old for this..

Max: I'm too cold for this..

Lando: I'm too tired for this..

Dan: I'm a little teapot short and stout..

One of the feel good stories coming into the 2021 F1 season, is the return of the Schumacher name to the sport, a name which is synonymous with motorsport, and it isn’t just any Schumacher, it is the son of the legend himself. So, what should we expect from the young driver? And is he being overhyped?

It is now over eight years since Michael retired from F1 for the last time, however it feels like so much longer, probably not helped by his struggles after he returned in 2010. So, as soon as we all heard that his son was making his way up through the junior ranks, it brought some excitement, as well as maybe expectation, of what he could do in his career.

There has been a clear path in Mick’s progression through the ladder of motorsport, he always takes a year in whatever series he has joined, to learn the new car and build confidence, then in the second year he is able to mount a true challenge for the title.

This way of going about his racing, doesn’t suggest we have another great on our hands, as normally those with that special gift for racing, can hit the big time almost in their first run in the car, due to their natural ability. That being said, we have seen some very quick drivers be slow burners, Leclerc took longer to make his way to F1 than Verstappen did, yet they are both considered to be one of the best in the sport.

Continuing to talk about Max, we have seen Mick also have run ins with teammates, and be slightly immature and reckless out on track, so we can’t blame him too much for this, as long as he learns from it for the future, like Max did. One key area which may be a problem for Schumacher, is he does struggle to put a lap together for qualifying. He isn’t terrible at it, however on weekends where he had the pace to win in F2, he was on the second or third row, the ability to pass in that series helped him to win races, yet he won’t have the same luxury in F1. All this being said, he clearly has bundles of raw talent, and can be ruthlessly efficient in wheel to wheel racing, which does bode well.

If he is feeling any pressure as a result of his name, he isn’t showing it, if anything he seems to thrive from it, which may work well for him. You can only imagine all the talk there is about him, the media asking him if he can win more titles for the family? Can he match his dad? As well as personal questions about the family sadly, which won’t help. He has said many times that he wants to do this for himself, not for his dad, he wants to create his own path in the sport, which is good, getting caught up in history can be tough.

That has been contradicted though, by the fact that he has chosen to use the same 3 letter abbreviation as his dad, MSC, when he could have used SCH, for his surname. Whilst I love the fact that MSC is back in the sport, if Mick wants to be his own person, this isn’t how to do it, as whenever I, or most people see MSC, we don’t think of Mick, we think of Michael. Many commentators have already done so in testing, so how can this be of help to him, even if those 3 letters mean so much to his family.

To finally answer the big question, is he overhyped? What can he do in F1? I think most people are aware from what he has already done, he isn’t showing absolute star potential, like we saw from Verstappen or Hamilton. Yet he is super quick, and could go far in F1, and we cannot doubt that the name will help to open doors. Ferrari have already said they are considering putting him in the big team in the future, which is worrying, as too much planning, or putting a young driver in a team like Ferrari too soon, could ruin his career. So, I don’t think he is massively overhyped, maybe slightly by some media outlets, but most know where he stands.

In terms of what results he could get, I think he will beat Mazepin, he showed in F2 he is faster, even if Nikita is quick too. If he deserves a drive at Ferrari in a few years, having got better as time goes on, he should obviously take it, and he could be a challenge for Leclerc or whoever else is there, you never know. Championships for Mick would not surprise me, he has shown the raw pace to do that, he clearly has the same genes as his dad for racing, it will just be a matter of timing, as to whether he gets that break he needs to win one or more.

He may not be Michael, but we see so much of Michael in him. The whole world is watching, to see what is possible from the son of an all time great of motor racing. We could be about to see another fairy-tale story of family success, but nothing is given in this sport, that’s what makes it so special!