Mick Schumacher’s demeanor changes the moment I hear one among his answers to my query. I asked him how he likes to spend his free time, and amongst the same old answers of going to the gym and riding his bike, there was one extracurricular activity that caught my attention. “I also like skydiving,” he says, quite casually, as we chat on the Canadian Grand Prix.
Schumacher downplays the importance of the word “like” when explaining how much of a component of his life skydiving was.
The former Haas driver, who still hopes to return to Formula 1, enthusiastically tells Motorsport.com about his hobby: “My first skydive, if I remember appropriately, I used to be eight or nine. It was a tandem jump, in fact. Basically, I didn't just like the proven fact that I used to be jumping up after which my sister did it and I believed, 'rattling, if my sister can do it, now I actually have to do it.'
“So I jumped out with my eyes closed, but I liked it a lot that I went straight back up.
“When I was old enough, I went on my own, that was when I was 16. Now I have 1,600 jumps and a license.”
Schumacher says his adrenaline-pumping hobby, which can also be enjoyed by Lewis Hamilton (they’ve gone skydiving together), also allows him to hone his skills as a racing driver.
Mick Schumacher, Reserve Driver, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team
Photo: Mark Sutton / Motorsports images
He explains: “It’s not only a chance to get to know your body higher, but additionally the proven fact that you’ve got this coordination of your feet, hands, body, head and eyes and what they’re doing. It gives you an idea of what to do through the race, nevertheless it also gives you knowledge of the weather and the winds.
“Sometimes you can get thrown into a weird situation so you have to move quickly, I knew how to do that when I was racing, but it helps to emphasize that over and over again, especially when you don't have any safety net around you like you do in a race car. I love doing it because it's something I shared with my dad.”
After a frustrating spell at Haas, Schumacher is now Mercedes' reserve driver and competes within the Endurance World Championship with Alpine.
His appearance at this 12 months’s Le Mans 24 Hours was cut short when each Alpine hypercars suffered engine problems after just six hours and each were forced to retire, but he says his experience with one other team and racing within the WEC helps him develop into a more well-rounded driver.
He hopes his time at Alpine and his job at Mercedes will help him discover a way back into F1 after spending just two seasons in the back of the grid with Haas, where he was never given the possibility to indicate his best side.
Claiming he still has loads to prove and needs to silence his critics, he added: “Working with Alpine is a chance for a team on the F1 grid to get to know me higher. It allows me to be a more versatile driver and check out different disciplines because it may possibly give me [a better chance]even when it's an additional 1%. It could help me.
#36 Alpine A424 Endurance Team: Nicolas Lapierre, Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere
Photo: Marc Fleury
“Someone with my experience would give you the option so as to add value to the team now. You need to undergo tough times to prove what you’re made from, but I can go into the paddock and still have a smile on my face and be motivated.
“I’ll keep trying until I succeed and I see no reason to offer up. I’m focused on getting back to F1, it has been my dream since I used to be a baby and I is not going to surrender.
“I still have loads to prove. Many individuals who know me have seen it within the junior categories, but those that only know me from Haas haven't seen it. There are many things I would like to prove incorrect when judging me.
“I don’t think I want to exit and put my CV in, people have seen what I’ve done. But you don’t know the way I work internally since it’s kept behind closed doors.
“If people knew how hard I work, it would affect them differently.”
