Schumacher still uncertain of F1 timing

Mick Schumacher admits he doesn’t know when he is likely to progress to Formula 1, but hopes to build on his first Formula 2 victory to be as prepared as possible by the end of this season.

The son of seven-time drivers’ champion Michael, Schumacher won the F2 sprint race at the Hungaroring after starting from reverse grid pole position. The result attracted significant interest in the German – who is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy and has tested this year’s Ferrari and Alfa Romeo cars – but he says he is unsure whether he will be prepared to make the step up at the end of this season if required.

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“I think only time can tell,” Schumacher said. “Obviously having the first victory in F2 is a great thing. I still need to work a lot on myself. Whether I go to F1 next year or in two years or three years, I don’t know. Only time can tell that. I will do my best possible to try to learn as much as possible so that when I do make the step, I am ready and comfortable.”

Schumacher had to withstand race-long pressure from Honda-affiliated driver Nobuharu Matsushita to secure his first victory at F2 level, and he’s hopeful it will lead to more success this season after a number of missed opportunities for strong results.

“I think it’s true that in a way, the first one is the hardest, but obviously it’s also once you get that win, it gives you a lot of confidence," he said. "It gives you a lot of confidence to go into the next round, especially getting towards the end of the season now. It’s good that we have done it in a way that is also I think not easy, because we had a lot of pressure, not only from Nobu (Matsushita) but throughout the whole season.

“We had some very strong performances, but not enough points for what we had. I think I refer back to Red Bull Ring or Silverstone where the pace was great, but in many ways we didn’t manage to really exploit it. In general I’m really happy that we managed to get that win, but mostly also getting those points in.”