AOn Wednesday there wasn’t much to see of Mick Schumacher. On his big day, he sat in front of a camera in a hotel room near the Bahraini circuit. He wanted and should tell how it is when the big dream comes true: Formula 1 driver in the Haas racing team in 2021; almost 30 years after his father Michael Schumacher began to conquer the premier class. The live stream from the press conference was broadcast around the world.
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He actually shows his head alone: The 21-year-old’s smile, the facial expressions to his delight of having made it after many “hard hours”; the change in facial features when he searched for words to avoid specific answers to questions about his expectations. Seen it before, for the first time almost three decades ago. The neighborhood immediately recognizes the boy: like the old man. The head makes the difference.
They often say that in top-class sport, when victories or defeats cannot be explained at first glance. When it remains unclear why the paths of two extraordinary talents at the highest level have parted ways. Here the winner, there the loser when things get tight. The answer: “Cool athletes prevail.” They would have a lot of capacity in the upper room, even under pressure. Michael Schumacher type. Sparse with the words, but always ready for technical discussions at full speed, even when cornering. The information flowed from the command post into the brain and back to the strategy center.
A lively exchange in order to solve technical problems at full throttle, to keep an overview, to make decisions like chess players – always a few moves ahead. Schumacher the head person. The British media called him “Computer” in 1995. The fact that he once lost control, racing, a championship, despite all the justified outrage, served as a reassuring confirmation: There is a person under his helmet.
Appearances don’t necessarily say much about the content. And so the Formula 1 world is curiously asking what’s inside the record world champion in Filius. Because you can’t look into the heads of the racing drivers either, all other methods are approaches: The increase in performance in the second year speaks for a great ability to learn, maybe also for the more shy type: first take a look. “In the second year,” says his future team boss Günther Steiner, “he struck.”
On one lap, in the grid race, others are faster. But in the races Schumacher jr. consistently large jumps. He overtakes skillfully and spectacularly, moves at the limit without lurching into chaos. That speaks for the fine art of control even in duels. The drivers of today have to rein in themselves if they want to make ends meet with the complex tires. That can mean letting a jostler go in order to get ahead of him: I’ll get you in the final laps.
“Mick seems to me very mature for his age,” says Steiner, “he is able to win races and championships, that’s important.” To be ahead in your head. Chess games are also part of training the ability to concentrate, as is relentless data analysis. Every mistake is rubbed under the pilot’s nose. Braking too early, too late, too early on the gas, too late, too large a steering angle, too small, tires overheated, tires not warmed up sufficiently … Everything is documented. They are glass.
And yet, with Mick Schumacher, it is impossible to tell what else is in him beyond the ability to withstand the pressure of demands and expectations as the offspring of the record world champion. When looking at the eye area, one thing is certain: he is also the son of his open-hearted mother. There’s no new Schumacher coming. Another comes.
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