Ferrari Academy Driver Mick Schumacher interview for Italian daily newspaper ‘La Gazzetta dello Sport’:
What was your parents’ reaction when you told them you want to become a racing driver?
Mick Schumacher: “I was with my father, I remember it well: we were in Kerpen, at the kart track. We were chatting and he asked me if I considered racing as a simple hobby or a serious thing. I was clear: for me it was serious. Both my father and my mother supported me in my choice.”
What was the advice your father gave you in your karting days?
Mick Schumacher: “The most important thing he told me was to have fun at what I was doing. And seeing me put that advice into practice was very important to him. If you love what you do, you do it well.”
You raced with PREMA and before that with Tony Kart: what is your opinion of Italy?
Mick: “I came to Italy when I was 12 years old. I would say that I have a good relationship with Italy in general. I lived some of the best moments like the victory at Monza last year. I have so many relationships with Italy without forgetting that I’ve known Ferrari since I was a child…”
Do you remember the first F1 Grand Prix that you witnessed live?
Mick Schumacher: “Well, what I remember well is accompanying my father to Fiorano for testing, watching him drive around while I was sitting in the stands. The first grand prix? To tell you the truth, I don’t have great memories, because I was six years old. What I do remember is my first trip to Melbourne and Canada. It was 2010. Those are special memories.”
You mentioned Maranello: what did you like to do when you came here?
Mick Schumacher: “When you’re a kid, you don’t realize much, you just observe cars going fast on a track. But you don’t understand where you are. Now knowing it well, it’s different, it’s a special place.”
When you walk through those gates in Fiorano, don’t you ever think: this is where my father wrote pages of Ferrari history?
Mick Schumacher: “Yes of course, I know he is part of Ferrari history and now it’s nice that I’m part of this history too. If I think that sometimes I go to Fiorano, where my father has done hundreds of laps… something emotional.”
How is your relationship with Charles Leclerc? You might become his teammate in the future..
Mick: “I’ve known him since he was in Prema in 2017, but it was a superficial relationship because we raced in different categories. I used to watch him on TV when he competed in F2.”
Is there any driver you admire for how he lives on and off the track?
Mick: “I love my dad. I think he always did everything in the best way. Otherwise I’m focused on myself. I’m not looking for a role model. I’m looking for my own way.”
What are your hobbies outside of racing?
Mick: “I also like to ride my bicycle and my other great passion is the gym. I spend a lot of time there. But there is little time to have hobbies.”
Your sister Gina is a German national equestrian, do you occasionally train together?
Mick: “But I don’t ride horses, it would be difficult to do that! However I love what she does, I support her just as much as she supports me.”
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