‘Reminds Me a Lot of His Dad’ – Kimi Raikkonen Shows His Soft Spot for Mick Schumacher

In the approaching 2021 F1 season, Mick Schumacher is one of the three drivers set to make a debut outing in the world-class racing series. And of course, there have been suggestions that his surname may have played a substantial role in guiding him to where he is now.

However, that doesn’t seem to be the case according to the one-time world champion, Kimi Raikkonen. The Iceman revealed that he has immense respect for the young German and reckoned that his path to F1 has everything to do with his talent.

Kimi’s view of Mick Schumacher

As reported by Motorlat, Kimi revealed that the entire paddock has been respectful to Mick since his official F1 entry. However, he also clarified that Mick hasn’t used his surname to his advantage, and rather relied heavily on his talent.

“Sure part of it is that (people having a lot of goodwill for him because of his Dad), but he’s not in F1 because of his second name,” the 41-year-old said.

Mick is joining the F1 grid after a strong showing in F2 with PREMA Racing. However, he doesn’t seem to be getting up to pace from the get-go. Instead, his two seasons in F2 indicated that Mick takes his own time to get up to speed.

During his debut season in F2, Mick faced nothing but struggles. Hence, instead of chasing after points that weren’t there for the take, he used the season to familiarize himself with the car.

Consequently, the German returned to the 2020 F2 season, filled with confidence, and produced some jaw-dropping performances throughout the year. That stellar outing in F2 ended up opening the doors to F1, a series where his father once laid his dominion.

Hopefully, he has a decent car: Kimi

Mick will be racing for the bottom-field team, Haas. Of course, they were once dominating the mid-field pack, but the 2019 F1 season managed to disrupt the upward trajectory, and the team have seen nothing but downfall since.

Hence, with Haas keen on returning to their older form, Kimi is hoping that Mick Schumacher gets a competitive car to race with.

“It’ll be exciting to see; hopefully he has a decent car. He reminds me a lot of his Dad. I’m very happy for him,” Kimi said.

The root cause of Haas’ downfall is the team’s lack of funding.

They did get huge financial support from Rich Energy, who were the team’s title sponsors for a handful of races in 2019. However, since the bitter end of the duo’s relationship, Haas have been adamant against calling upon a replacement, consequently pulling the team further behind in terms of on-track performances.

Finally, this season, they’ve got Uralkali as their title sponsors.

So, will this union help Haas halt their brief terrible run, and help them make a leap to the mid-field again? Only time will tell.

Also Read: What to Expect from Mick Schumacher in His First Ever F1 Campaign