Mick Schumacher spent much of his karting career using his mother Corina’s maiden surname Betsch during his early years to avoid the public spotlight, but this year the son of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher has been thrust into the limelight thanks to his impressive European F3 title win – it is clear the Schumi III era is dawning.
Danish racing driver Nicklas Nielsen, a friend of young Schumacher as well as former teammate, has shed intriguing insight about the 19-year-old German during an interview with BT.
“I know him very well, also in private. Mick is a very quiet and calm guy, normal like all of us. He is not a snob because of his name, he is a very polite and welcoming person, comfortable talking with everyone.”
“He is nothing like Max Verstappen, who doesn’t care about anything or anyone and just wants to win. Mick is well educated, he is a good guy.”
Mick and Nielsen were close – teammates on track and buddies off track – during the period when Schumacher senior suffered the life-altering freak skiing accident with his son, a4 at the time with him on that tragic day.
Nicklas: It was a completely closed subject and he did not talk about it
Nielsen recalled the period, “Michael was with Mick at the tracks many times, they were very close before the accident. They had a very professional approach to everything.”
After the accident, when Mick returned to racing months later the subject of his father’s condition became taboo.
“It was a completely closed subject and he did not talk about it,” recalled Nielsen. “I’m still running a mini-kart for Ralf Schumacher’s team, and to this day no one talks about it. It’s hard to say what’s going on.
“Mick did not mention his emotions regarding his father, he just said sometimes that of course, it was hard to deal with,” added Nielsen who now races with Formula Racing in various GT series driving a Ferrari.
Fresh from his F3 crown, Schumacher is likely to step up to Formula 2 next season, and the top flight is likely to follow as he shows glimpses of the talent that made his father the most successful Formula 1 driver of all time.