Ross Brawn couldn't help but remember Michael after watching Mick Schumacher celebrate his Formula 2 win last Sunday.
The 20-year-old son of the seven-time F1 champion enjoyed one of his strongest weekend's of the year in Hungary, capped off by claiming his first F2 victory in the sprint race.
And after a season where Mick has struggled to gain his footing in the junior series, Brawn hopes the past few weeks signal a turning point.
“I wasn’t at the track, but it was an emotional moment seeing him raise his arms to the sky, and I can’t deny that it reminded me of his father, Michael,” said the current F1 motorsport director.
“Mick had to fight for the win and avoid making mistakes as he was harried all race long by Nobuharu Matsushita.
“The victory comes after a rather unlucky first part of the year, and this will give him more confidence in his own abilities.
“A week earlier in Hockenheim, Mick did a demonstration run in a really special car, the Ferrari F2004 that his father had driven and in front of the crowd that had cheered on Michael for so many years.
“It must have been an incredible swirl of emotions for Mick before he too goes off on the summer break."
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There was unsurprisingly a huge amount of attention on Schumacher when he stepped up with Prema after winning last year's European F3 crown, but that star had faded due to the lack of results.
Even so, Brawn believes that only proves he should be given the time to develop.
“The younger Schumacher’s efforts have captured the imagination of media all around the world, and show how much the Schumacher name still means and how much attention it can generate," he stated.
“Mick still needs to be allowed to progress calmly in order to see where he fits in this competitive world of talented youngsters, but (the Hungarian) win was an important moment: there’s a long way to go, but he’s on the right road.”
