Haas F1 German driver Mick Schumacher. (Photo: Xavi Bonilla / POL / AFP)
Mick Schumacher’s legendary father, Michael Albert, holds the lap record in the park and he remembers traveling to Melbourne as a child to see his father in action.
Now a Formula One driver himself, the 23-year-old will follow in his footsteps as he races for the first time this weekend at the Australian Grand Prix.
“I’m so excited, I’m looking forward to getting to know the track, as well as the city,” said the smile driver.
“I was here with my dad and saw him race in Melbourne, it was really great, and I’m excited to build my own experience driving here and driving in Formula 1 in Australia.”
Schumacher is lucky to be in Melbourne after fleeing a horrific accident while qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix two weeks ago.
He had to be picked up from his wrecked car after a quick carb clip and taken to the hospital for precautionary tests before being dropped from the race.
The Swiss-born German later said he was “feeling fine” and his focus is now entirely on winning Albert Park, just as his seven-time world champion father did with four wins at his Ferrari in the early 2000s.
During that impressive race, he set a blistering lap record of 1: 24.125 in 2004 that still stands today. It probably won’t last the weekend, like five seconds to shave lap time with significant changes in the circuit.
“My father has a lap record in the 2004 Ferrari. I got the chance to drive that car and it’s an amazing car, “said Schumacher.
“It simply came to our notice then. The cars are back on time and with the front wings they look a little more like before, so it will be interesting. “
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