Mick Schumacher

## Career Overview

### **Haas (2017 - 2018)**

Mick Schumacher (son of the legendary Michael Schumacher) made his F1 debut at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as part of the BMW Programme. However, things wouldn't got to plan for the young German, as he would crash into the pitlane wall and rebound off into the Williams of Josh Tirowee. Both would continue, however Schumacher would finish 19th and last of the classified finishers, whilst Tirowee would recover up to 7th. Schumacher would prove his doubters wrong at the Belgian Grand Prix, as a fortunately timed Safety Car would play into the hands of the one-stopping Haas driver to deliver him to his first race victory in F1.

Schumacher would further prove his pace early in 2018, taking two top 5 finishes in the opening 5 rounds. Despite Stroll having a 1-up with a podium, Schumacher was leading in terms of points scored. Schumacher would only score points once in the second half of the season, finishing on 44 points. 9 more than team mate Stroll.

### **Williams (2019 - 2020)**

Schumacher was promoted to the works Williams-BMW team for 2019, to replace the outgoing Josh Tirowee.

Schumacher would take his first ever pole for the season opener, but would drop back during the race to finish in 9th. Mainly due to the front wing damage on the Alfa Romeo of the driver he replaced at Williams, Josh Tirowee. Without the damage, Schumacher was on for at least a top five finish, and maybe even a podium if he was lucky.

Schumacher would right the wrongs of his debut Williams outing, going on to dominate the Bahrain Grand Prix in qualifying and the race. He also set the fastest lap in the process. This result elevated Mick to the top of the Driver's championship. Schuacher would win three of the first four races, taking fastest lap also. His streak would be broken at Azerbaijan, as he finished second to Lewis Hamilton's Toyota. Schumacher would return to form for the Russian Grand Prix - taking pole, fastest lap and the win.

The Italian Grand Prix would prove to be a disaster for Williams, with both cars out in Q1, and neither reaching the top 12 in the race. It came to light that BMW hadn't upgraded the Power Units at all throughout the season, prompting speculation that the German giants are to make an exit from F1 at the close of the season. Williams returned to form for the Hungarian Grand Prix, Schumacher finishing 4th with Kubica 8th.

The final four races of the season were cancelled, which secured the Driver's title for Schumacher as he was leading the Championship after the last completed race which was the Monaco Grand Prix.

#### **2020**

Schumacher's title defense would start disastrously. The inherently flawed Williams FW41C lacked pace all throughout the opening round. This coupled with Honda engine issues left the German only 18th and a lap down on the leaders. Schumacher would score points in round 2, but only due to the Wildcard points system.

Williams unveiled their proper 2020 challenger, the FW42 for round 5 at Spain. Early results were promising, the car appeared to be much more stable and predictable through cornering, and a more efficient aero package cut drag. Mick Schmacher was on course for a top 5 in the race, but a loss of hydraulic pressure forced the defending Champion to retire on track. Latifi had an eventful race moving through the mid fiends, and had a near race long battle with 2019 DAMS F2 teammate Sergio Sette Camara. Latifi finished the race in 10th. The FW42 would shine at the Monaco Grand Prix. In the hands of Mick Schumacher, he managed a 5th place finish, the team's highest of the season to date. Schumacher put together an encouraging weekend at the Russian Grand Prix. The outgoing Champion qualified his FW42 in fifth. An excellent start saw the German up to third on the opening lap, briefly challenging for the lead. Schumacher eventually finished sixth.

### **McLaren (2021-2022)**

Many questioned why Schumcaher would leave Williams for McLaren, but Frank Williams later revealed that no longer have sufficient funds to pay a World Champion driver since losing their BMW backing. Mick would be looking to emulate his father, and build a team back to their dominating ways of the mid 2000s.

An encouraging opening race confirmed McLaren's early season pace. Both Schumacher and Norris were able to compete at the head of the midfield. The MCL35B came alive in Round two. COTA short had been a strong circuit for McLaren, and 2021 was no different. Mick Schumacher took his first pole for the team, as the team's first in almost 10 years. Both cars were strong in the race, with only the Renault of Esteban Ocon challenging. Lando Norris eventually went on to record his first victory in F1. This was also McLaren's first win since 2012. McLaren also gained the lead of the Constructor's Championship for the first time in the V6 Turbo-Hybrid era.

Even with the season being shortened, Schumacher regained the form and consistency that lead him to title success in 2019, to finish 3rd overall.

#### **2022**

The engine supplier may be new, but McLaren's driver lineup remains unchanged. After putting up an unexpected title challenge using a glorified 2020 car, 2019 Champion, Mick Schumacher and one time to date race winner Lando Norris look to be the dark horses again in this year's coming title race if McLaren can fast track their understanding of their car.

McLaren implemented a brake upgrade for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Schumacher didn't get to put them to the test, as a front brake failure sent him into Pierre Gasly's AlphaTauri on lap 2 of the race. Norris scored a consecutive 12th place finish.

McLaren's best race of the season to date came at Round 5, Singapore. In changing conditions, McLaren was able to play the strategy to perfection, securing a third place finish for Lando Norris. Schumacher backed this up with a sixth place finish, to score for the first time this season.

McLaren brought a new floor upgrade to the Spanish Grand Prix weekend. The Woking outfit aims to pull clear of Toyota, and gain ground on Williams. Mick Schumacher finished 5th in FP1, ahead of both Williams. Both McLarens were in the top 5 at the end of FP3. Norris qualified 11th and Schumacher 13th, both behind Albon's Williams in 10th. Norris finished the race in 8th, with Schumacher 12th.

Mick Schumacher had arguably his strongest race of the season to date at COTA. The 2019 Champion recovered from a puncture on lap 9 to finish 10th. This result from the German came too little to late, as McLaren announced Oscar Piastri to partner Lando Norris for 2023.

Schumacher struggled, but will have a new environment in 2023.

### **Alfa Romeo (Present)**

With the team emerging as one of the most consistent front running teams in recent years, and with Audi influence, 2019 Champion Mick Schumacher aims to rejuvenate his career after an underwhelming 2022 campaign with McLaren. Similar to when his Uncle Ralf moved to Williams in 1999, Mick's move is to familiarize himself wit the team environment ahead of the Audi works project.

Las Vegas hosted the first of three Wildcard races, allocating 5 points for pole, and all 20 positions in the race. Schumacher started on Softs for a two-stop strategy, whilst the rest of the field started on Mediums for a planed one-stop. Tirowee started to drop back on the Las Vegas strop from lap 3, as his RB19 was suffering from ERS deployment problems. Both Ferraris, Schumacher, Vergne and Alonso demoted the Brit down the order. Schumacher made his first of 2 stops at the end of lap 7 for Mediums. Pierre Gasly span on lap 13, blocking the track after the strip, and brought out the first Safety Car of the season. Verstappen lead from Hamilton, Alonso, Russell and Leclerc. The Safety Car ruined Albon's and Schumacher's strategy, but they were both on Mediums compared to Hards for the other 18 drivers. Schumacher bought his AR/23 home for a 7th place finish, with Zhou behind in 8th.

Schumacher lined up on pole for the Japanese Grand Prix the first time since USA (COTA) 2021. Schumacher held the lead. A dive from Zhou into turn 1 forced both Red Bulls off the track, but both continued down a few positions. Zhou couldn't maintain his early offensive, as was passed by Hamilton and Tirowee on laps 2 and 3. The Chinese driver continued to fall down through the top 10 as the first stint unfolded. Verstapen made a committed move on the Alfa Romeo through 130R on lap 7. Hamilton challenged the lead Alfa Romeo on lap 8, but lot the position back the the German as quickly as he gained it. A routine lightning stop for Red Bull advanced the Dutchman ahead of Hamilton. Race leader Schumacher pitted on the next lap, and narrowly maintained the net lead over Verstappen. Tirowee and the Aston Martins went long in anticipation for the weather. Tirowee conceded defeat at the end of lap 14, and rejoined behind his team mate and Hamilton. Verstappen look the net lead on lap 15, as Alonso and Stroll lead 1-2. Stroll pitted on lap 15 and Alonso on lap 16 for dry tyres. Verstappen took his third win from three races. Schumacher kept the Dutchman honest less than four second back to take his first podium since Austria 2021. Zhou quietly went about his business to complete the podium.

Schumacher took his first win since 2019 at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Qualifying runs took place in FP3 as the rest of Saturday was also expected to be wet. Tirowee gave the other 19 drivers something to think about by risking a lap on Inters to top the pile from Schumacher and Verstappen on Wets. The top three from FP3 lined up in the same order on the grid. he second Wildcard race of the season delivers points for every position, and battles for every place. Tirowee held the lead off the start, whilst Verstappen made it a Red Bull 1-2. Schumacher found his way past Verstappen and on lap 12/32 the German made a move for the lead. Schumacher found his way past Verstappen and on lap 12/32 the German made a move for the lead. Verstappen showed his hand on the final lap, but Schumacher had put last season behind him and reminded everyone why he's a World Champion to block the Dutchman's offensive. Schumacher kept it together for the rest of the final tour to claim his first win since 2019. Almost 20 years ago, his father Micheal won here for an Italian team with Ferrari power. Alfa Romeo became the nearest challengers to red Bull once again but lost further ground to the Austrian outfit.

It was an extremely wet start to qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix, but the sky was brightening up. Four big names were caught out in the transition from Wets to Inters at the end of Q1. The track was drying rapidly throughout Q2, but Inters was still the way to go. The track was just about dry enough at the end of Q3 for Softs, with last over the line having the best track conditions. Schumacher secured another top 3 start, with Zhou 6th. Changeable conditions returned for the race. All 20 drivers survived the opening lap without damage. The red flag was out on lap 5, as Carlos Sainz's day ended early, and Liam Lawson collected the Ferrari in the process. By the time the AlphaTauri and Ferrari had been cleared away, the sun was out and the track was dry. 7/18 remaining drivers were on Drys. Toyota made a catastrophic error and fitted the Brazilian's TRD123 with Inters. Sette Camara's excellent qualifying and opening laps had been wasted. To add to the restart chaos, Zhou's Alfa Romeo experienced a clutch issue and the Chinese pulled off at turn 1. The skies began to darken once more by lap 18. Schumacher brought out a second red flag on lap 29, when the German had an identical crash to Sainz. It wasn't the impact the 2019 Champion needed to make with Tirowee down the order.

## Racing Record (Formula One Results Only)

Results in **bold** indicate Championships won.