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via Reuters

via Reuters

It was not the start of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend that Mick Schumacher had envisioned. The Haas driver had some gearbox issues during the FP1 session. The team instructed him to come back to the pit box so that they can fix the issue.

But he could not make his way back to the pit box and stopped at the entry of the pit lane. This was very similar to when his father also parked his car at Rascasse in the 2006 Monaco qualifying.

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Unfortunately, on both occasions, it was Fernando Alonso who had to suffer the consequences. While Mick stopped at the entry of the pit lane, he blocked the entry for other drivers.

READ MORE: F1 Throwback: Mick Schumacher’s First Taste of Racing with Father Michael

One of the drivers was Alonso, who was trying to make his way back to his pit box. Although Fernando eventually made his way back to his pit box, it brought back memories of the infamous 2006 ‘mistake’ from Michael.

Mick Schumacher imitates his father’s mistake in Monaco qualifying

Unlike Michael, Mick did not cause any controversy as it was just Free Practice and not the qualifying session. But Fernando would have definitely not enjoyed such a throwback.

In 2006, while Alonso and Schumacher were both fighting for the championship, it was crucial for both drivers to take pole in Monaco. But the Spanish driver did not get the opportunity to complete his fastest lap after Michael parked his Ferrari in the Rascasse corner.

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This got heavy criticism from many drivers in Formula One. Then McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen even mentioned that he does not believe that Schumi had any problems. “I don’t believe that he really had any problems,” said Kimi.

While Michael’s former rival Jacques Villeneuve was more critical of the 7-time world champion. “There’s no way you could make a mistake like that. I hope it was deliberate because if you can make a mistake like that, you shouldn’t drive a race car,” said the 1997 world champion.

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Michael suffered a huge penalty after the qualifying session, as he was stripped of his pole position and sent to the back of the grid for the race. Although it seems highly unlikely that his son Mick would get the same punishment for blocking the pit lane. But it was certainly not what he wanted heading into a really significant Grand Prix weekend of his career.