Formula 1 managing director of motorsport Ross Brawn believes Mick Schumacher should join Formula 2 before considering a seat in F1.
The Briton, who was a key figure in the career of his father Michael, is closely following the progress of the German, who is currently on course to claim the European F3 championship with five wins in the last six races giving him a 49-point lead with just three rounds to go.
Given his form, some have wondered if Schumacher could follow the likes of Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll in making the immediate jump from F3 to F1, however, Brawn believes he shouldn’t rush his progress up the motorsport ladder.
“Mick is a very mature young man and I think he knows he has to pace himself, make sure that he is completely ready to join F1,” he told German news agency TASS.
“The name of Schumacher carries a lot of history. If he merits and if he wants to be fully prepared before he makes his step into F1, I think F2 is the next logical step for Mick.
“Hopefully he can come into F2, to learn the tracks more and because of the integration we now have between the F2 and F1, he can start to become familiar with the Formula 1 environment.”
Such is the level of expectation surrounding Schumacher’s rise, many are already predicting he could attract huge renewed interest in the sport, likely from those who switched off when his father retired in 2012.
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Indeed, former Toyota driver Timo Glock believes his impact at home would likely be bigger than that made by Sebastian Vettel or Nico Rosberg since.
“If F1 had a Schumacher again, it would boost the interest in Germany,” the current DTM driver said.
“Right now the ratings are good with an average of four million viewers. But at the height of Michael Schumacher, it was more like 10 million.
“The current drop is normal and we saw it when Boris Becker and Steffi Graf finished their [tennis] careers.”
There is no shortage of parties willing to help Mick achieve that goal too with Ferrari insisting the “door is always open” to him and Mercedes likely keen to continue their legacy with the Schumacher family.
One thing that is for sure and as Brawn concluded: “I am delighted that he is performing as much as he is because it brings back some very fun memories.”