Former F1 Champion Damon Hills feels that Mick Schumacher is a lot more ‘open’ than his father Michael was.
Mick is the son of Michael Schumacher who is a 7-time F1 World Champion. The former made his F1 debut in the 2021 season, driving for Haas. His maiden campaign in the sport was quiet, due to driving a car that wasn’t capable of fighting for points.
However, the young German’s performances have grabbed a lot of attention, with drivers like Sebastian Vettel praising him for ‘performing really well in a poor car’.
It was a given that people would compare the Haas driver to his legendary father after his entry into F1. Schumacher previously stated that he does not like comparing himself to others, but that people have pointed out similarities between him and his father in terms of driving.
1996 F1 Champion Damon Hill commented on how Mick’s personality differs from that of his dad’s. Hill and Michael Schumacher were fierce rivals back in the day, when they went toe to toe for race wins and Titles.
“He’s had a chance to learn without too much expectation, and that is the big problem.” said Hill when talking about Mick Schumacher.
“There is a lot of interest in him but he seems to be his own man, which I like. He speaks for himself, and I’ve only heard good things from the team.”
Michael Schumacher was a closed book, says Damon Hill
The former Williams driver admits that him and Michael were never good friends. They battled for glory on track, but off it, they barely knew each other. He used that as an example to talk about the difference between the fathers-son duo.
“Mick has grown up a lot in the States I think. So he is perhaps a little more worldly than his dad was when he was starting out.” Hill continued. “I was not very close to Michael – well, I got very close to him on the track – but Michael was quite difficult to know.”
“The documentary which came out showed why he possibly had this faceless front that he put on when he went racing. I saw a few glimpses of the nice guy on occasion. But I think we were worlds apart in terms of our mindsets.”
Mick Schumacher will continue racing for Haas in 2022. The 22 year old will be hoping that he gets a more competitive car to drive, which would allow him to fight for points at the least.
