Michael Schumacher is often labeled as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. There are several young racing drivers and established F1 stars who look up to the former Ferrari man. What Schumacher achieved in F1 is a benchmark for plenty of aspiring talents, who dream of making it big. Speaking on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show, McLaren driver Lando Norris recently revealed a hilarious story of Schumacher getting into a fight with a 13-year-old boy.
Following his retirement from the sport in 2012, Michael Schumacher was heavily invested in his son Mick Schumacher’s racing career. The seven-time world champion wanted to play an active role in shaping his son’s F1 future, and guide him to greatness.
Mick and Michael Schumacher pic.twitter.com/HMN2uSGJGL
— F1 Pics That Make You Smile (@ChroniclesOfF1) June 10, 2022
Before Schumacher suffered the tragic skiing accident in 2013, he even had plans of being Mick’s manager. This would help his son out a lot, just because of his presence in the paddock. It was during that time that a young Norris came across Schumacher, and witnessed the incident he revealed on the show.
The ‘amusing’ Michael Schumacher story
Lando Norris recently appeared alongside his teammate Oscar Piastri and team CEO Zak Brown on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio UK, where he spoke about instances that left him starstruck. The Bristol born driver’s immediate answer involved Michael Schumacher.
He explained that between 2012 and 2013, Norris was competing against Mick Schumacher in the karting circuit. Norris commented that when he was only 12 or 13 years old, coming across someone like Schumacher was a huge deal for him.
Norris went on and said, “I remember him having a bit of a scrap with one of my teammates. Michael having a go at one of my teammates. Who was like certain or 14 at the time and getting into quite an argument.” The Briton also went ahead and said that this confrontation was very “amusing” and “great to watch.”
The burden of the Schumacher surname
Fast forward to 2021 and Mick Schumacher finally did manage to make his way into Formula 1 after winning the Formula 2 championship in 2020. Unfortunately, his time in the sport was limited to just two seasons. Haas was the team who took a gamble on him. However, things didn’t quite work out for the young German driver at the Kannapolis-based outfit.
Mick Schumacher had to bear the burden of his surname as people expected huge things from him because of who his father was. This burden was so huge for Mick he avoided using his surname during several junior races.
Currently, Schumacher is the reserve driver for Mercedes’ F1 team. To make his way back into the grid, however, he was to work incredibly hard.
