Michael Schumacher’s son, Mick, will make his Formula One debut in a test for Ferrari on 2 April, after the Bahrain Grand Prix, it is understood. Ferrari have yet to confirm the test but Schumacher is expected to drive for them on one day and Alfa Romeo, with whom Ferrari have a partnership, on the next.
The team also announced that British driver Callum Ilott, currently racing in Formula 2 with the Sauber Junior Team and a member for the Ferrari driver academy, will drive the Alfa Romeo at the Barcelona test, on 14-15 May.
Schumacher was signed to the Ferrari driver academy in January. The 19-year-old, who was the European Formula 3 champion last season, will compete for Prema Racing in the F2 championship in the first round of the series in Bahrain. The test is a preliminary step to potentially joining the team with whom his father enjoyed such success.
Michael, who is still in recovery after a severe accident while skiing in 2013, won the world championship seven times. Five of the titles were with Ferrari, for whom he drove between 1996 and 2006. His son began racing in karting in 2008.
“I am thrilled that Ferrari has entered a partnership with me and my next future in motorsport will be in red, being part of the Ferrari driver academy and also of the Scuderia Ferrari family,” Schumacher said after been signed by the Italian team. “This is another step in the right direction, and I can only profit from the immense amount of expertise bundled there. Be sure I will make everything to extract whatever helps me achieve my dream, racing in Formula One.
“It is more than obvious that Ferrari has a big place in my heart since I was born and also in the hearts of our family, so I am delighted on a personal level about this opportunity as well.”
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His father won his titles for Ferrari between 2000 and 2004 and during which time Mattia Binotto, who is the new Ferrari team principal, was an engineer for the team. “For someone like me who has known him from birth, there’s no doubt that welcoming Mick into Ferrari has a special emotional meaning,” Binotto said. “But we have chosen him for his talent and the human and professional qualities that have already distinguished him despite his young age.”
F1 has two two-day in-season scheduled tests in 2019. Of the four days two of them must be run by a driver who has competed in fewer than two F1 races, a criteria Schumacher and Ilott meet.
Illot is 20 years old and from Cambridge. He has previously competed in Formula 3 for three seasons and in 2017 was taken on by the Ferrari driver academy. Last year he made his GP3 debut, finishing in third place. He has competed in two races in F2 but this will be his first full season in the series.
