SILVERSTONE, England: It took a while but Mick Schumacher finally clinched a first points place of his Formula 1 career with an eighth place finish in the British Grand Prix on Sunday, easing the growing pressure on the son of seven-time world champion Michael .
Following in the slipstream of one of the greatest Formula One greats of all time has opened doors for young Schumacher, but with opportunity has also come sky-high expectations that the Haas driver is finding increasingly difficult to fulfil.
While it took his father two races to earn his first points place at the 1991 Italian Grand Prix for Benetton, Mick finally did it on his 31st attempt with a performance celebrated by other drivers including World Championship leader Max Verstappen .
“It’s great to be able to score points in a double points finish in the sense that we’ve now overtaken Aston Martin in the Constructors Championship, which is something great, something we’ve been aiming for for a while,” said Schumacher. “Now we’re just trying to get more points from the others bit by bit.”
Schumacher’s first points could not have come at a better time, as there were whispers in the pit lane that the 23-year-old German, despite his pedigree, could be dropped after a series of crashes and poor finishes.
After driving senseless in his rookie season last year, Schumacher had come close to ending his dry spell several times before breaking through at Silverstone on Sunday.
Points were looking in the cards at the Miami Grand Prix in May until he collapsed with his mentor Sebastian Vettel four laps from the finish as he battled for ninth place.
At the Canadian Grand Prix on June 19, Schumacher qualified a career-best sixth but was unable to convert that into a points result when his car stalled mid-race.
In Britain, Schumacher stayed away from an early multiple-car pile-up and put on a strong performance. He even lined up with Verstappen on the final lap to snatch seventh place from the Dutch driver.
“It’s a risk for more points (Racing Max),” said Schumacher. “We all have a good relationship within the rider community and it’s nice to see that everyone is healthy after the start.”