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."



Saudi Arabia’s Participation in Paris Olympics Part of Quality of Life Program, Al-Bakr Says

The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program. (SPA)
The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia’s Participation in Paris Olympics Part of Quality of Life Program, Al-Bakr Says

The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program. (SPA)
The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program. (SPA)

CEO of Saudi Arabia’s Quality of Life Program Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Bakr said on Friday the Kingdom’s participation in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is part of integrated and comprehensive efforts to build a distinguished future for the sports sector in the Kingdom.

This will help reach the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 in achieving sports excellence and building a vital and stimulating sports sector for young Saudi men and women.

Al-Bakr said the participation reflects the support of the country’s wise leadership for the sports sector, as well as the efforts made by the Ministry of Sports and the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee to develop the sector under the supervision of Sports Minister and Chairman of the Olympic and Paralympic Committee Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal.

The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program, which is “achieving excellence in several sports regionally and globally” by launching several initiatives on supporting and empowering Saudi athletes and contributing to increasing the number of athletes participating in the Olympic Games.

Since its launch in 2018, the program has offered many initiatives to develop the sports sector, Al-Bakr said. He cited the Elite Athletes Development Program, which trained and empowered Saudi players participating in the Paris Olympics, in addition to initiatives concerned with supporting and empowering women to contribute to the sports system, the Saudi Games, and building sports academies, including the establishment of Mahd Academy.

The program seeks to discover, develop, and support sports talents with the aim of creating a sports generation capable of competing in and representing the Kingdom in various regional and international events, he added.