Give Schumacher time to develop - Brawn

Mick Schumacher needs to be given time to develop after scoring first victory at Formula 2 level during last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, says Ross Brawn.

Qualifying fourth in the wet was followed by an eighth-place finish in the feature race that led to an inverted-grid pole position for Schumacher on Sunday, and he duly won the sprint despite race-long pressure. Brawn was a key figure in Schumacher’s father Michael's title-winning campaigns at Benetton and Ferrari, and the now Formula 1 managing director of motorsport says patience is needed with Mick even after his win.

“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 Brawn.

“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.

“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. Mick still needs to be allowed to progress calmly in order to see where he fits in this competitive world of talented youngsters, but (Sunday’s) win was an important moment: there’s a long way to go, but he’s on the right road.”

Schumacher’s victory was also his first top three finish and moved him up to 11th in the drivers’ championship this season. He is currently the third-highest rookie on 45 points, behind Anthoine Hubert on 77 points and Guanyu Zhou on 107.