Michael Schumacher’s son, Mick, has heartbreakingly admitted that he had to “find his own feet” after the Formula One legend’s tragic skiing accident 11 years ago.
Schumacher sustained life-changing injuries while skiing in the French Alps in December 2013, when he veered slightly off-piste and hit his head on a rock. The seven-time F1 world champion was rushed to hospital and placed in a medically induced coma.
While the Ferrari racing legend was allowed to return home, he has only been seen once in public since, with updates on his health scarce. Mick, who was just 14 at the time of the accident, achieved his own dream of racing in F1 by racing for Haas for two seasons, before becoming a reserve driver for Mercedes.
In a new book titled 'Inside Mercedes F1', author Matt Whyman, who had unrestricted access to the team, includes a conversation with Mick about his father's influence.
"I was a crazy kid - everything my dad did, I did," he explained to Whyman. "I started karting aged three. I was six when I first went scuba diving. Aged 10 I was skydiving. My dad was always very open to me trying out whatever I wanted to do and racing is all I wanted to do, because I enjoyed it the most.
"He was really supportive and a lot of fun, but could also be challenging. One time in a karting race I braked very late going into a corner and gained a lot of time. When I told him about it, he said, 'Yes, but you should have braked like that in every corner!'
"Whenever he felt like I was not taking it seriously, he would say, 'Mick, would you rather go and play football with your friends? If so, we do not need to do all of this'. I insisted that I wanted to race and he said, 'Okay, then let's do it properly'. So we started doing more European karting and I was getting better."
With one of motorsport's icons as his mentor, Mick gained a significant advantage and he moved up the racing ladder. However, when his father suffered a catastrophic accident, Mick's life took an unexpected turn.
"Then my dad had his accident," Mick recalled. "I started racing in the Formula classes the year after and from that point onwards, I had to find my own feet.
"But I definitely learned a lot of technical points from him that I still use today, as well as from his coaching. And I have always been very resilient. Whenever I got hurt I would jump like on, and I am still like that, in fact."
Mick has been balancing his commitments with Mercedes, who his dad came out of retirement to race for between 2010 and 2012, and competing in hypercars for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship. This season, he partnered up with French drivers Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere in the #36 car, securing an impressive maiden podium at the Six Hours of Fuji for the team.
Despite this success, Schumacher's aspirations to rejoin the F1 grid have yet to materialise, with the 2025 lineup nearly finalised and no spot secured for him. He was under consideration by Audi for a seat at their Sauber outfit, but this week they confirmed the signing of Brazilian Formula 2 frontrunner Gabriel Bortoleto to team up with Nico Hulkenberg for the upcoming year.
