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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Fraser Watson

Michael Schumacher's poignant message to son Mick who "loves" being compared to icon

Mick Schumacher has revealed the heartwarming advice given to him by his father before he embarked on his own career in F1.

Schumacher, 23, is currently in his second season with American team Haas, following a harrowing debut campaign in 2021 where he failed to score a single point for his team. And 2022 didn't get off to a great start either, following a dramatic crash in qualifying in Saudi Arabia which forced him to miss the race, costing his team a hefty sum in repair bills in the process.

That led to speculation that Gunther Steiner would be releasing the German at the end of 2022, although he has since shown signs of improvement. An eighth-placed finish at Silverstone ensured his first ever F1 points, and that was backed up by coming sixth in Austria.

The youngster has also had to deal with inevitable comparisons to legendary father, a notion he recently claimed didn't cause him to feel extra pressure. Michael Schumacher won seven world titles, a figure only matched by Lewis Hamilton, and is undoubtedly considered amongst the greatest drivers of all time.

Mick's uncle, Ralf Schumacher, also won six times in 180 F1 races, but now the Haas man has insisted he was never pushed into continuing the family legacy. In fact, his father was happy for him to do what he enjoyed most.

"My father was always very supportive of everything I was doing in karting," he said in an interview with mundodeportivo. "Of course. I think he tried to give me different approaches to see what was best for me, and in the end he always told me: 'do what you love'."

Michael Schumacher enjoyed extraordinary success during his own F1 career (Reuters)

However, he also lauded the advice given to him by the Ferrari and Benetton icon: "And for me, what I have loved the most has always been racing. I have always loved what I have done and every time I went to major events, bigger races, it was very nice that he occupied his time with me in the motorhome, discussing racing. They were good times."

In December 2013, Schumacher senior suffered a harrowing skiing accident while on a family holiday in Grenoble. After spending time in a medically induced coma, the icon now resides in the family home in Switzerland, but little is known about his condition.

Last September, a Netflix documentary titled Schumacher was released. The film featured Mick, sister Gina, and mother Corinna, who all spoke about the impact the incident on the family.

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