By alley - Dec 28, 2016, 2:36 PM ET

F3: Schumacher ready for 'more difficult' racing

In just his third season of racing, Mick Schumacher says he's ready to handle the pressure of Formula 3 now that his move

has been confirmed

.

"I want to be a F1 world champion, like every driver," he told German newpaper Bild. "F3 is the next step for me and I can hardly wait. 2017 will certainly be a challenge, but the tests in the past few weeks have shown that the car is great fun to drive."

Schumacher, who finished as the runner-up in both German and Italian Formula 4 for Prema, began testing in November in Prema's Mercedes-powered Dallara at Nurburgring alongside teammate and Ferrari Driver Academy prospect Guan Yu Zhou. They are joined in the Prema stable by British Formula 3 star Callum Ilott, who is moving over from Van Amersfoort Racing.

"This is the category that all the big names have come through, from the point of view of professionalism, it's a bit closer to F1 and a bit more difficult."

The former karting star told Bild he would only join F1 "once I feel ready for this step."

"I will only know the moment when it comes, I will do it in the way that I think is right. Even if there is a lot of attention on me, I want to race and that's the most important thing."