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He seems to be doing pretty well in F3 after winning again today for his fourth win in a row, so when do you expect him to graduate to F1 and for which team?

It's more like his 4th win in 8 races, which is still decent but hardly dominant. I'd hope/imagine he'll move up to F2 next year and we can judge him on that.

Banana Man wrote:It's more like his 4th win in 8 races, which is still decent but hardly dominant. I'd hope/imagine he'll move up to F2 next year and we can judge him on that.

I guess I misunderstood the report that I read, it says he has won at 4 successive rounds so sorry for the mistake:

https://www.motorsport.com/eurof3/news/ ... 32/?nrt=53

Given how obsessed I was with Schumacher Sr. during his career, I've been taking an interest in how Schumi Jr. is doing. He was a little underwhelming in his debut F3 season but now seems to have found his feet and is becoming a title contender.

Obviously his surname will open doors in the future but his results will determine how far he gets. An F1 test (in a Ferrari perhaps?) will beckon if he continues his good form, but I agree that seeing how he does in F2 will be the acid test.

Regardless, I bet his dad is proud if him.

Mick Schumacher is coming good at the moment and he can still win the F3 championship. Still, he is a second year driver and most of his title rivals have less experience: Daniel Ticktum (championship leader), Juri Vips, Marcus Armstrong.

I've thought for a while that Mick isn't good enough for F1, however if he finishes top three or two this year if he graduates to GP3...

Also some people say that David Schumacher (son of Ralph, remember him) is the better one of the two!

owenmahamilton wrote:

Banana Man wrote:It's more like his 4th win in 8 races, which is still decent but hardly dominant. I'd hope/imagine he'll move up to F2 next year and we can judge him on that.

I guess I misunderstood the report that I read, it says he has won at 4 successive rounds so sorry for the mistake:

https://www.motorsport.com/eurof3/news/ ... 32/?nrt=53

he did win four successive rounds. Each venue has three races during the weekend and MSC has won a race during each of the last four rounds. He's also on pole for the coming two races in this weekend's round at the Nurburgring so stands a good chance of making a clean sweep

He's becoming the man to beat in F3 and could well win the title this year, then F2 for next year, F3 and GP3 are merging next season.

Dominated from pole today.

He's now firmly second in the championship, just 16 points behind Tictum.

He also starts race 3 from pole position, with Tictum alongside him on the front row.

Throwing this out there: a finish in the F3 top three would give him enough points (20 from x2 F4 2nd places in 2016, plus at least 20 from F3 this year) to qualify for a Super License. I personally don't think he's ready to be in F1 next year but given the huge positives Mick's surname could bring them, combined with Red Bull not having a young driver to stick in at Toro Rosso, is it out of the question that he could become an option for them for 2019?

And another win

Any talk of a 2019 F1 drive is way, way ahead of time, and as much as it opens doors early on, a name like that can act like an albatross around your neck when you get to the big leagues and the pressure is on to match the acheivements of what came before you.

He looks like he is settling well in F3, and F2 certainly beckons. Let's see how he does there before suggesting F1.

Flash2k11 wrote:Any talk of a 2019 F1 drive is way, way ahead of time, and as much as it opens doors early on, a name like that can act like an albatross around your neck when you get to the big leagues and the pressure is on to match the acheivements of what came before you.

He looks like he is settling well in F3, and F2 certainly beckons. Let's see how he does there before suggesting F1.

Agree 100%

Flash2k11 wrote:Any talk of a 2019 F1 drive is way, way ahead of time, and as much as it opens doors early on, a name like that can act like an albatross around your neck when you get to the big leagues and the pressure is on to match the acheivements of what came before you.

He looks like he is settling well in F3, and F2 certainly beckons. Let's see how he does there before suggesting F1.

I don't know. If he wins F3 then why wouldn't STR or even Sauber consider him?

Race 3 won.

Just 3 points now separate Ticktum and Schumacher for the title with two rounds (6 races) remaining.

mikeyg123 wrote:

Flash2k11 wrote:Any talk of a 2019 F1 drive is way, way ahead of time, and as much as it opens doors early on, a name like that can act like an albatross around your neck when you get to the big leagues and the pressure is on to match the acheivements of what came before you.

He looks like he is settling well in F3, and F2 certainly beckons. Let's see how he does there before suggesting F1.

I don't know. If he wins F3 then why wouldn't STR or even Sauber consider him?

I completely agree that a move to F1 would be too soon, and that a season or two in F2 would be much more beneficial. But at the same time as Mikey says, if he wins F3 - beating another Red Bull junior who was supposedly in the running for a Toro Rosso seat in the process - then he's got to at least be a name Red Bull give some consideration to. And when that name is Schumacher, I honestly do think that could be enough to get him the seat, particularly if Red Bull don't want to be seen to be taking on another team's discarded junior driver (Vandoorne) or even bringing back another of their own discarded projects (Kvyat).

It's the same way I think the first female driver who has an even vaguely successful junior career will get an opportunity in F1 much quicker than an equivalent male driver would. It's a team's marketing dream, and while Michael Schumacher's son might not have quite the same pull, it's obviously going to be a pretty big deal all the same.

Jenson's Understeer wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:

Flash2k11 wrote:Any talk of a 2019 F1 drive is way, way ahead of time, and as much as it opens doors early on, a name like that can act like an albatross around your neck when you get to the big leagues and the pressure is on to match the acheivements of what came before you.

He looks like he is settling well in F3, and F2 certainly beckons. Let's see how he does there before suggesting F1.

I don't know. If he wins F3 then why wouldn't STR or even Sauber consider him?

I completely agree that a move to F1 would be too soon, and that a season or two in F2 would be much more beneficial. But at the same time as Mikey says, if he wins F3 - beating another Red Bull junior who was supposedly in the running for a Toro Rosso seat in the process - then he's got to at least be a name Red Bull give some consideration to. And when that name is Schumacher, I honestly do think that could be enough to get him the seat, particularly if Red Bull don't want to be seen to be taking on another team's discarded junior driver (Vandoorne) or even bringing back another of their own discarded projects (Kvyat).

It's the same way I think the first female driver who has an even vaguely successful junior career will get an opportunity in F1 much quicker than an equivalent male driver would. It's a team's marketing dream, and while Michael Schumacher's son might not have quite the same pull, it's obviously going to be a pretty big deal all the same.

Any female driver who scores the license points will be on the grid so fast it would make your head spin.

I imagine the F1 Young Driver Program scouts are circling, primed to lock him in for the next 10 years of his career.

Seanie wrote:I imagine the F1 Young Driver Program scouts are circling, primed to lock him in for the next 10 years of his career.

Don't want to spoil the euphoria but his performances have been very mixed so far. He is in his second year in F3 whereas Ticktum, Vips and Armstrong (his competitors for the title) are in their first year. He should be ahead of them, yet he is just now getting to them.

Due to his name, he will get into F1 sooner or later (I suspect sooner). But talent-wise he is not really standing out.

Another win at the Red Bull Ring in race one. His 4th in a row and the championship lead.

And he’s on pole for both race 2 and race 3.

He seems to have quite suddenly hit his stride - I imagine there are quite a few F1 teams looking closely at him right this moment.

Mick Schumacher to Toro Rosso confirmed?

Fingers crossed.. looking good for now. He’s only hope now that I’ve given up on Vettel

He has also tried a Merc according to this article:

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... UU0OI.html

Don't rush him. I think he has firmly taken control of the F3 championship and it is impressive to watch but let's not get carried away here. I would recommend giving him at least one year in F2 before any F1 drive. He's good though and he is legit.

I think he's turned a corner here psychologically. His raw pace seems to be a cut above the competition at that level; which is exactly what you want to see from a potential F1 driver. He's just 19 too so he's exactly the age you want to see a driver at going into F2. I think a year or two at that level should leave him fully prepared for F1 and it will allow everyone to see whether or not he's the real deal. Mick is definitely looking good so far but he's no Verstappen. He's not a particularly quick study as his first year in F3 proved and rushing him up to F1 would be a recipe for disaster IMO.

sandman1347 wrote:Mick is definitely looking good so far but he's no Verstappen.

You're right - if he wins the F3 championship, he's won more championships than Max!

Race 2 won. Ticktum also retired so it's looking like a formality now.

He's basically there in terms of the points needed to finish P3 or higher in the standings, therefore giving him the Superlicense points he needs to be able to race in F1 next year. I would personally still say it is too soon for him to come into F1, especially considering his results up until about halfway through this year weren't anything out of the ordinary, but the F3 title combined with his surname is going to make him appealing to teams that still have seats to fill.

Jenson's Understeer wrote:He's basically there in terms of the points needed to finish P3 or higher in the standings, therefore giving him the Superlicense points he needs to be able to race in F1 next year. I would personally still say it is too soon for him to come into F1, especially considering his results up until about halfway through this year weren't anything out of the ordinary, but the F3 title combined with his surname is going to make him appealing to teams that still have seats to fill.

Toro Rosso in particular I'd imagine. Personally I think he could do with a year of F2 first but I don't think it's completely out of the question we could see him paired with Kvyat next season.

Right now I don't see why STR wouldn't go for him.

mikeyg123 wrote:Right now I don't see why STR wouldn't go for him.

If Michael is still sharp mentally, he won't let his son be thrown to the wolves like that. STR won't have any real love for Mick and they will abandon him at the first sign of struggle.

I think he should look to latch on with either Mercedes' or Ferrari's young driver programs and that he should go into F2 next year. Ferrari and Mercedes are the two top teams in F1 and Michael has past relationships with both of them and is on good terms with both. Hamilton won't be racing forever and neither will Vettel. While Charles is firmly in place at Ferrari, Mercedes really don't yet have a successor lined up. Ocon is kind of on shaky ground. If they were blown away by him, he'd be in the car already IMO.

I still think that Ferrari are the team to get involved with IMO. They are really on the rise and, unless Vettel can both beat Leclerc and beat Hamilton to the WDC, there is a strong chance that he will be out of the way by 2021. A year in F2 and then a year at Sauber might open the way for Mick to be in the Ferrari! Now I'm really getting ahead of myself...

sandman1347 wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:Right now I don't see why STR wouldn't go for him.

If Michael is still sharp mentally, he won't let his son be thrown to the wolves like that. STR won't have any real love for Mick and they will abandon him at the first sign of struggle.

I think he should look to latch on with either Mercedes' or Ferrari's young driver programs and that he should go into F2 next year. Ferrari and Mercedes are the two top teams in F1 and Michael has past relationships with both of them and is on good terms with both. Hamilton won't be racing forever and neither will Vettel. While Charles is firmly in place at Ferrari, Mercedes really don't yet have a successor lined up. Ocon is kind of on shaky ground. If they were blown away by him, he'd be in the car already IMO.

I still think that Ferrari are the team to get involved with IMO. They are really on the rise and, unless Vettel can both beat Leclerc and beat Hamilton to the WDC, there is a strong chance that he will be out of the way by 2021. A year in F2 and then a year at Sauber might open the way for Mick to be in the Ferrari! Now I'm really getting ahead of myself...

If someone can offer you an F1 seat you take it. If Merc can't position a proven F1 talent then that should be seen as a no go. Red Bull tend to be pretty loyal with their young drivers. They almost all get a couple of years. And that STR could be a decent ride next year. It's much easier to shine in a car scoring regular points than one at the back or just outside. He'd have a beatable team mate as well.

mikeyg123 wrote:

sandman1347 wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:Right now I don't see why STR wouldn't go for him.

If Michael is still sharp mentally, he won't let his son be thrown to the wolves like that. STR won't have any real love for Mick and they will abandon him at the first sign of struggle.

I think he should look to latch on with either Mercedes' or Ferrari's young driver programs and that he should go into F2 next year. Ferrari and Mercedes are the two top teams in F1 and Michael has past relationships with both of them and is on good terms with both. Hamilton won't be racing forever and neither will Vettel. While Charles is firmly in place at Ferrari, Mercedes really don't yet have a successor lined up. Ocon is kind of on shaky ground. If they were blown away by him, he'd be in the car already IMO.

I still think that Ferrari are the team to get involved with IMO. They are really on the rise and, unless Vettel can both beat Leclerc and beat Hamilton to the WDC, there is a strong chance that he will be out of the way by 2021. A year in F2 and then a year at Sauber might open the way for Mick to be in the Ferrari! Now I'm really getting ahead of myself...

If someone can offer you an F1 seat you take it. If Merc can't position a proven F1 talent then that should be seen as a no go. Red Bull tend to be pretty loyal with their young drivers. They almost all get a couple of years. And that STR could be a decent ride next year. It's much easier to shine in a car scoring regular points than one at the back or just outside. He'd have a beatable team mate as well.

Mick would be the beatable teammate next year I'm afraid. He'd likely be facing someone with a lot more experience in F1 like Pascal or Stoffel and who has a lot to prove. I just think it's too soon for him to enter F1. I really don't think he's ready and it's just his name that has everyone getting ahead of themselves. The promotion to F1 for 2019 would not be in his best interest IMO.

I think Sandman is right, Ferrari will want to get him in their pipeline ASAP, they almost have a moral obligation to do so!

sandman1347 wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:

sandman1347 wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:Right now I don't see why STR wouldn't go for him.

If Michael is still sharp mentally, he won't let his son be thrown to the wolves like that. STR won't have any real love for Mick and they will abandon him at the first sign of struggle.

I think he should look to latch on with either Mercedes' or Ferrari's young driver programs and that he should go into F2 next year. Ferrari and Mercedes are the two top teams in F1 and Michael has past relationships with both of them and is on good terms with both. Hamilton won't be racing forever and neither will Vettel. While Charles is firmly in place at Ferrari, Mercedes really don't yet have a successor lined up. Ocon is kind of on shaky ground. If they were blown away by him, he'd be in the car already IMO.

I still think that Ferrari are the team to get involved with IMO. They are really on the rise and, unless Vettel can both beat Leclerc and beat Hamilton to the WDC, there is a strong chance that he will be out of the way by 2021. A year in F2 and then a year at Sauber might open the way for Mick to be in the Ferrari! Now I'm really getting ahead of myself...

If someone can offer you an F1 seat you take it. If Merc can't position a proven F1 talent then that should be seen as a no go. Red Bull tend to be pretty loyal with their young drivers. They almost all get a couple of years. And that STR could be a decent ride next year. It's much easier to shine in a car scoring regular points than one at the back or just outside. He'd have a beatable team mate as well.

Mick would be the beatable teammate next year I'm afraid. He'd likely be facing someone with a lot more experience in F1 like Pascal or Stoffel and who has a lot to prove. I just think it's too soon for him to enter F1. I really don't think he's ready and it's just his name that has everyone getting ahead of themselves. The promotion to F1 for 2019 would not be in his best interest IMO.

I half agree. The thing is turning down a seat is a risk. He'd probably have Kvyat as a team mate and nobody would expect him to beat him in season one. Rookies almost never neat experienced team mates. You may never get that good an opportunity again. I mean say he goes to F2 and finishes 10th or so in his first year. Then what? I think it's best to make the jump when you've got the chance. In a way it's a little similar to Stroll who has talent but was rushed to soon in my opinion. But then if he hadn't who knows what would've happened. You have to strike whilst the iron is hot.

mikeyg123 wrote:I half agree. The thing is turning down a seat is a risk. He'd probably have Kvyat as a team mate and nobody would expect him to beat him in season one. Rookies almost never neat experienced team mates. You may never get that good an opportunity again. I mean say he goes to F2 and finishes 10th or so in his first year. Then what? I think it's best to make the jump when you've got the chance. In a way it's a little similar to Stroll who has talent but was rushed to soon in my opinion. But then if he hadn't who knows what would've happened. You have to strike whilst the iron is hot.

You might not expect him to beat Kvyat in his rookie season... but a whole heck of a lot of people would. The way most people seem to look at it is 'highly rated rookie should beat weak teammate'. I recall that almost everyone thought Leclerc needed to beat Ericsson to prove himself. I expect, especially considering how poorly Kvyat exited the sport, they'd have the same feeling about Schumacher/Kvyat.

Which would be very unfortunate for him, since if Kvyat returns to form he's not a bad driver at all. The odds are pretty good he'd soundly beat Schumacher, earning himself very little and ruining Mick's career before it got off the floor.

Exediron wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:I half agree. The thing is turning down a seat is a risk. He'd probably have Kvyat as a team mate and nobody would expect him to beat him in season one. Rookies almost never neat experienced team mates. You may never get that good an opportunity again. I mean say he goes to F2 and finishes 10th or so in his first year. Then what? I think it's best to make the jump when you've got the chance. In a way it's a little similar to Stroll who has talent but was rushed to soon in my opinion. But then if he hadn't who knows what would've happened. You have to strike whilst the iron is hot.

You might not expect him to beat Kvyat in his rookie season... but a whole heck of a lot of people would. The way most people seem to look at it is 'highly rated rookie should beat weak teammate'. I recall that almost everyone thought Leclerc needed to beat Ericsson to prove himself. I expect, especially considering how poorly Kvyat exited the sport, they'd have the same feeling about Schumacher/Kvyat.

Which would be very unfortunate for him, since if Kvyat returns to form he's not a bad driver at all. The odds are pretty good he'd soundly beat Schumacher, earning himself very little and ruining Mick's career before it got off the floor.

Nobody that mattered would expect him to beat Kvyat. Don't forget Kvyat lost to Vergne in his debut season and still got promoted.

mikeyg123 wrote:

sandman1347 wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:

sandman1347 wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:Right now I don't see why STR wouldn't go for him.

If Michael is still sharp mentally, he won't let his son be thrown to the wolves like that. STR won't have any real love for Mick and they will abandon him at the first sign of struggle.

I think he should look to latch on with either Mercedes' or Ferrari's young driver programs and that he should go into F2 next year. Ferrari and Mercedes are the two top teams in F1 and Michael has past relationships with both of them and is on good terms with both. Hamilton won't be racing forever and neither will Vettel. While Charles is firmly in place at Ferrari, Mercedes really don't yet have a successor lined up. Ocon is kind of on shaky ground. If they were blown away by him, he'd be in the car already IMO.

I still think that Ferrari are the team to get involved with IMO. They are really on the rise and, unless Vettel can both beat Leclerc and beat Hamilton to the WDC, there is a strong chance that he will be out of the way by 2021. A year in F2 and then a year at Sauber might open the way for Mick to be in the Ferrari! Now I'm really getting ahead of myself...

If someone can offer you an F1 seat you take it. If Merc can't position a proven F1 talent then that should be seen as a no go. Red Bull tend to be pretty loyal with their young drivers. They almost all get a couple of years. And that STR could be a decent ride next year. It's much easier to shine in a car scoring regular points than one at the back or just outside. He'd have a beatable team mate as well.

Mick would be the beatable teammate next year I'm afraid. He'd likely be facing someone with a lot more experience in F1 like Pascal or Stoffel and who has a lot to prove. I just think it's too soon for him to enter F1. I really don't think he's ready and it's just his name that has everyone getting ahead of themselves. The promotion to F1 for 2019 would not be in his best interest IMO.

I half agree. The thing is turning down a seat is a risk. He'd probably have Kvyat as a team mate and nobody would expect him to beat him in season one. Rookies almost never neat experienced team mates. You may never get that good an opportunity again. I mean say he goes to F2 and finishes 10th or so in his first year. Then what? I think it's best to make the jump when you've got the chance. In a way it's a little similar to Stroll who has talent but was rushed to soon in my opinion. But then if he hadn't who knows what would've happened. You have to strike whilst the iron is hot.

It is a risk for Schumacher to do F2 because he might lose his F1 super license but they want to make sure he's ready for F1 by proving himself at a higher level first wheres the Strolls admitted they didn't want to risk him in F2, I think the actual wording was they didn't want to risk his reputation in F2 or as it was called then GP2.

I think the difference is that Daddy Stroll is a massive F1 fan and he wanted his son to be a F1 driver whereas the Schumacher's only want Mick to do F1 if they are confident he can hold his own and do the Schumacher name justice.

mikeyg123 wrote:

Exediron wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:I half agree. The thing is turning down a seat is a risk. He'd probably have Kvyat as a team mate and nobody would expect him to beat him in season one. Rookies almost never neat experienced team mates. You may never get that good an opportunity again. I mean say he goes to F2 and finishes 10th or so in his first year. Then what? I think it's best to make the jump when you've got the chance. In a way it's a little similar to Stroll who has talent but was rushed to soon in my opinion. But then if he hadn't who knows what would've happened. You have to strike whilst the iron is hot.

You might not expect him to beat Kvyat in his rookie season... but a whole heck of a lot of people would. The way most people seem to look at it is 'highly rated rookie should beat weak teammate'. I recall that almost everyone thought Leclerc needed to beat Ericsson to prove himself. I expect, especially considering how poorly Kvyat exited the sport, they'd have the same feeling about Schumacher/Kvyat.

Which would be very unfortunate for him, since if Kvyat returns to form he's not a bad driver at all. The odds are pretty good he'd soundly beat Schumacher, earning himself very little and ruining Mick's career before it got off the floor.

Nobody that mattered would expect him to beat Kvyat. Don't forget Kvyat lost to Vergne in his debut season and still got promoted.

He scored less points but Kvyat won the qualifying battle and that in itself perhaps gave Red Bull the thought he had more potential than Vergne?

pokerman wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:

Exediron wrote:

mikeyg123 wrote:I half agree. The thing is turning down a seat is a risk. He'd probably have Kvyat as a team mate and nobody would expect him to beat him in season one. Rookies almost never neat experienced team mates. You may never get that good an opportunity again. I mean say he goes to F2 and finishes 10th or so in his first year. Then what? I think it's best to make the jump when you've got the chance. In a way it's a little similar to Stroll who has talent but was rushed to soon in my opinion. But then if he hadn't who knows what would've happened. You have to strike whilst the iron is hot.

You might not expect him to beat Kvyat in his rookie season... but a whole heck of a lot of people would. The way most people seem to look at it is 'highly rated rookie should beat weak teammate'. I recall that almost everyone thought Leclerc needed to beat Ericsson to prove himself. I expect, especially considering how poorly Kvyat exited the sport, they'd have the same feeling about Schumacher/Kvyat.

Which would be very unfortunate for him, since if Kvyat returns to form he's not a bad driver at all. The odds are pretty good he'd soundly beat Schumacher, earning himself very little and ruining Mick's career before it got off the floor.

Nobody that mattered would expect him to beat Kvyat. Don't forget Kvyat lost to Vergne in his debut season and still got promoted.

He scored less points but Kvyat won the qualifying battle and that in itself perhaps gave Red Bull the thought he had more potential than Vergne?

Well yes, that's sort of the point. Being outscored didn't matter in the end.