Mick Schumacher Remembers Dad ahead of Australia F1 Debut

Mick Schumacher will be following in his father's footsteps in Australia. (File photo: AFP/Andrej Isakovic)
Mick Schumacher will be following in his father's footsteps in Australia. (File photo: AFP/Andrej Isakovic)
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Mick Schumacher Remembers Dad ahead of Australia F1 Debut

Mick Schumacher will be following in his father's footsteps in Australia. (File photo: AFP/Andrej Isakovic)
Mick Schumacher will be following in his father's footsteps in Australia. (File photo: AFP/Andrej Isakovic)

Mick Schumacher's legendary father Michael holds the lap record at Albert Park and he fondly remembers travelling to Melbourne as a child to watch his dad in action.

Now a Formula One driver himself, the 23-year-old will follow in his footsteps when he races at the Australian Grand Prix for the first time this weekend, AFP said.

"I'm quite excited, I'm looking forward to getting to know the track and getting to know the city as well," said the Haas driver.

"I've been here with my dad and have watched him race in Melbourne, that was really cool, and I'm excited to drive here myself and make my own experiences of driving in Formula 1 in Australia."

Schumacher is fortunate to be in Melbourne after escaping uninjured from a horror crash in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix two weeks ago.

He had to be lifted out of his wrecked car after clipping a kerb at high speed and airlifted to hospital for precautionary tests, before being ruled out of the race.

The Swiss-born German said afterwards he was "feeling alright" and his attention is now fully on conquering Albert Park, just like his seven-time world champion father did with four victories in his Ferrari in the early 2000s.

During that dominant run, he set a blistering lap record of 1:24.125 in 2004 which still stands today. It will likely not survive the weekend, with significant changes to the circuit set to shave lap times by as much as five seconds.

"My dad holds the lap record in a 2004 Ferrari. I got the chance to drive that car and it's an amazing car," said Schumacher.

"We'll make our own laps in a similar-looking car, actually. The cars have turned back in time and they're looking a bit more like they used to with the high front wing, so it will be interesting."



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.