Michael Schumacher's son prepares to follow in his father's racing tracks

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/24/michael-schumacher-son-mick-motor-racing-debut

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The 16-year-old son of Michael Schumacher, the seven-time Formula One champion, is due to make his debut in the same sport.

Mick Schumacher will be looking to make his mark in single-seater racing on Saturday, when he will follow in the footsteps of his father – who was seriously injured in a skiing accident in 2013 – and participate in Formula Four, the category for young drivers.

For the first time, as he climbs behind the wheel of his Van Amersfoort car in Oschersleben, north-east Germany, Schumacher Jr will be driving under his own name.

Previously, when taking part in go-kart racing – the same way his father started his prodigious career which led to him becoming the most successful driver in Formula One history – the teenager has driven under the maiden name of his mother, Corinna, in a deliberate attempt to to avoid publicity.

Observers of the sport say his decision to appear now as the son of Schumi, as his father is affectionately known, marks the start of his concerted attempt to become another great in the sport.

A protective shield has formed around Mick – who bears a striking resemblance to his father – consisting of his mother, his father’s former rivals and friends in the sport, as well as his manager, Sabine Kehm, who is also managing Mick.

“Now everybody is concentrating on the first challenging start,” Kehm told Bild am Sonntag newspaper. She said: “We musn’t forget this is a young man who has only just turned 16.” She has appealed to the media to be restrained in the attention it pays him.

We must not forget​​ this is a young man who has only just turned 16

Gerhard Berger, an Austrian former Formula One driver and Schumacher rival, said while holding many advantages, the boy’s name could become a burden. “It’s quite tough for Mick to be treading in his father’s footsteps,” he said.

But he said he expected Mick could have a successful career in the sport. “I know him a bit and he’s a good lad, with both feet on the ground and the racing bug within him. He grew up in this environment and it is his life. He’s not in any danger of being imbalanced by it.”

Berger said he thought Mick was embracing the sport to try to focus on something other than his father’s accident and grave condition, which has had a devastating effect on his life.

In a homage to his father, the top of the teenager’s trademark fluorescent green and yellow helmet is decorated with a formation of seven stars, similar to those his father wore on his headgear.

Berger said he thought Mick was attempting to “blend out the subject surrounding his father and to go his own way”. He said: “He is being strongly supported by his mother.”

Despite the intensive therapy he has been receiving at his home in Lake Geneva, Switzerland, 48-year-old Schumacher’s condition is believed to be extremely serious. Tents have been erected around his house so the media cannot photograph him in his wheelchair.

Even the practice runs at Oschersleben have been attracting unprecedented media attention because of Schumacher Jr’s presence. Up to 180 journalists are believed to have been accredited for the competition in the hope of seeing another racing star in the making.

“He’s already driving in the German Formula Four now, which is exactly the right introduction to the sport,” Berger said. “But it’s my opinion that he’ll fairly rapidly see him in Formula Three. That’s when we’ll see how much talent he’s really got.”

But even as a go-karter he showed considerable promise, Berger said. “Mick had a lot in him as a go-karter, and in the [recent] practice runs he also put in a good performance,” he said. In 2014 Schumacher Jr was the European go-karting champion and runner-up in the world championships.

Niki Lauda, a three-time Formula One champion, also from Austria, said he thought the huge interest being shown in Mick Schumacher in the runup to his debut was a “massive burden”. However, Lauda remained “convinced we’ll be hearing quite a bit from him”.

Meanwhile, the four-time Formula One champion, Sebastian Vettel, a fellow German and close friend of Michael’s, has taken over the patronage of Formula Four, in what is being seen as an expression of the intense sense of protection many in the sport feel towards their former competitor’s son.