Formula 2 driver Mick Schumacher admits there are downsides to following in the footsteps of his seven-times world champion father Michael.

The 19-year-old, who joined the Ferrari Driver Academy earlier this month, has made few public remarks on the legacy of his father, who was seriously injured in a skiing accident five years ago.

“I am happy to be the son of the greatest F1 racer of all time,” said Schumacher in an interview with the FIA’s Auto magazine. “I’m happy that he is the greatest F1 racer of all time, and I admire him for that.

“And even if sometimes it can be a bit difficult, it is what it is. There are good sides to it and there are bad sides.

“Having the support I have from a lot of people all over the world can’t be a bad thing. I am thankful for that.”

Last year Schumacher scored won first single-seater championship in European Formula Three. He described how his father once asked him if he wanted to pursue a professional racing career.

“Racing and karting is quite a normal thing in my family and I always loved to go karting with my father. It was big fun sharing that with him and I remember him asking one day if this would be a hobby for me or if I wanted to do it as a professional.

“I told him straight away I wanted to do it professionally. I never wanted to do anything else.”

Schumacher took until the mid-way point of last year’s F3 season to score his first win in the category. After that a string of victories put him on course for a comfortable championship victory.

“It started in Spa and then in Nurburgring, where I won all three races, it was clear that the title was in reach. In hindsight it may sound strange, but throughout the season I never thought the title was out of sight, I was always convinced that it was still possible to win it.

“We had the pace, but there always seemed to be something that didn’t go right, but I firmly believed we would sort that out.”

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Formula Two