All eyes were on Mick Schumacher on Friday morning as the son of seven-time world champion Michael continued his preparations for his eagerly-awaited test drive with Ferrari in Bahrain.
The German youngster, whose legendary dad won five world titles with the famous Formula 1 team, will make his F2 bow - the feeder series to F1 - with Prema Racing this weekend.
Schumacher Jr got behind the wheel of his 2019 F2 challenger for practice, and he’ll return to the Sakhir Circuit track later in the day to compete in qualifying.
The highly-rated driver was watched by his mother Corinna and staff from the Ferrari Driving Academy, whom Schumacher Jr signed up with earlier this year.
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This drive comes ahead of the 20-year-old making his first official appearance in an F1 car when he makes his test debut for Ferrari next week.
Schumacher Jr will drive for the Italian team in Bahrain - on Tuesday, April 2 - before testing for Alfa Romeo at the same venue a day later.
The opportunity, which is the first official F1 test of the season and follows this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, represents a chance for the German starlet to make another step in his pursuit of following in his legendary dad’s footsteps.
Schumacher Sr, arguably the most successful driver in F1 history, is best remembered for winning five successive titles with Ferrari, adding to the two he previously won with Benetton.
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The much-loved racer, who called time on his Ferrari career in 2006, also won a record 91 Grands Prix before retiring from the sport seven years ago.
But he has not been seen in public since suffering a traumatic brain injury during a skiing trip in December 2013, an accident that left him in a coma.
Meanwhile his son said on Thursday he is “100 per cent” focused on F1 despite all the attention surrounding his eagerly-awaited debut for the Italian team.
“I guess [the F1 tests] something I’ll focus on as soon as it’s time for it,” he said in the Bahrain paddock.
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“There’s a bunch of things you have to do to be prepared, and I’ve done that. I’ve done that with Prema.
“I’m doing a lot of sim work for F2 and physical training in trying to have a similar heat to here. It’s very difficult obviously, the sun is very strong.
“But I feel really prepared. I feel 100 percent ready to kick off the season.
“I think the goal for me really is to learn as much as possible, to gather as much experience, and then to deliver the best potential and the best performance.”
