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    Max Verstappen makes history as he pips Norris to fourth consecutive Japanese Grand Prix in first Red Bull win of season

    MAX VERSTAPPEN returned to his usual spot as he took his first win of the season in Japan.The Red Bull driver edged out Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri the same way he did in qualifying as he won his fourth consecutive Japanese Grand Prix – the first driver in history to do so at Suzuka.Max Verstappen won the Japanese Grand Prix to become the first driver in history to win four consecutive GP’s at SuzukaCredit: ReutersVerstappen picked up Red Bull’s first win of the seasonCredit: ReutersVerstappen had earned pole position in qualification by setting an “incredibly rewarding” record lap round the Suzuka Circuit.And he used that advantage to nip right in front of Norris from the off, staying in front of the Brit for the entire race.In fact, Verstappen was leading the pack for the entire race, barring the laps he used to catch up following his pit stop.It was that pit stop that looked like it could have been a turning point, as both the Dutchman and Norris came in at the same time.READ MORE F1 NEWSChampionship leader Norris looked like he was going to squeeze past Verstappen as the pair returned to the track, but instead got caught in the grass and lost a second on his rival.From there, both Norris and Piastri were spending the rest of the race trying to make up ground on the four-time world champion.Birthday boy Piastri was actually looking the faster of the two McLaren drivers, but a decision was made to leave Norris in second to keep the 25-year-old in top spot in the Drivers’ Standings.Verstappen crossed the line in 1:22:06.983, with Norris trailing behind by just 1.423 seconds and Piastri taking third spot by 2.129.Most read in MotorsportLando Norris was caught in the grass as he came out of his pit stopCredit: GettyMcLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri propped up Verstappen on the podiumCredit: RexCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSCharles Leclerc took fourth for Ferrari, while Mercedes pair George Russell and Kimi Antonelli made up fifth and sixth place.That makeup is the exact same as yesterday’s qualification.Sky Sports F1 pundits in hysterics as star reveals he ‘almost crash’ after bizarre injury in ‘sensitive area’Meaning it’s the first time in history that the top six has stayed the exact same on a permanent race track.Lewis Hamilton was the best of the rest in seventh spot, but still finished well behind any kind of podium spot.Verstappen said on the team radio: “What an unbelievable weekend. What a turnaround. We win together, we keep pushing together.”While in a post-race interview, he added: “The two McLarens were pushing me very hard. It started off quite tough this weekend and we had to keep improving the car, but today it was in top form.”It’s important to always maximise your performance and I think we did that this weekend”.Norris was asked after the race his thought on the incident that saw him head through the track-side grass after the pit stop, admitting it’s just part of the race.He said: “Max is the last guy I expect to give me space. In a good way, in a competitive racing way.”Read More on The SunElsewhere 18-year-old rookie Kimi Antonelli managed the fastest lap around the track in a promising start to life on the track.While Yuki Tsunoda improved on his qualification disappointment with a 12th placed finish, ending the race five spots above the man he replaced at Red Bull, Liam Lawson.Norris spoke about his incident on the grassCredit: AFP More

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    Sky Sports F1 pundits in hysterics as star reveals he ‘almost crashed’ after bizarre injury in ‘sensitive area’

    FORMULA ONE rookie sensation Isack Hadjar “almost crashed” after injuring a sensitive area of his body during qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix.The Racing Bulls youngster repeatedly complained over the team radio that he was in agony after his seat belts twisted on Saturday morning.Isack Hadjar said he ‘almost crashed’ after injuring a sensitive area of his body during qualifying in GPCredit: Sky SportsThe Racing Bulls driver had to jump out between qualifying sessions to be helped outHis team worked frantically to fix the issueHadjar disrupted the team’s original plan by returning to the garage towards the end of Q1, as mechanics frantically tried to fix the problem. The 20-year-old was sent back out while still in pain, but he somehow managed to find a lap quick enough to lift him out of the bottom five. He then had his six-point safety harness re-positioned and went on to battle through to Q3 and pip Lewis Hamilton to seventh fastest ahead of Sunday’s race.After qualifying, Hadjar revealed that he was so disorientated he nearly crashed the car – which would’ve been for the second time this season.READ MORE F1 NEWSBut he found little sympathy from the Sky Sports panel of pundits, as presenter Simon Lazenby said: “I’m just going to cross my legs here and ask you what was going on?”And Hadjar told Sky: “It was a nightmare, man. Honestly. I’m really proud of myself and the lap I did in Q1, with what I had, unbelievable.””I realised straight in Turn 3. I was like ‘OK, this is not going well’, and I nearly crashed actually. But I’m OK.The panel were laughing even harder when Naomi Schiff pointed out: “This was not an issue I ever dealt with when I was racing.”Most read in MotorsportCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSPundit Jacques Villeneuve, who was already giggling, begged him not to go into “too much detail” on the live broadcast.Drivers normally stay in the cockpit for the duration of qualifying, but drastic action was needed and Hadjar jumped out between sessions.Yuki Tsunoda explains why he is the right driver for Red Bull’s Formula 1 team Hadjar somehow managed to power through and qualified seventh – ahead of Lewis HamiltonDuring Q1 Hadjar had made it clear just how painful the problem was as he spoke with race engineer Pierre Hamelin over the radio.He said: “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, f***ing hell. I mean, I just can’t focus, I have so much lap time. It’s just not driveable.”The French-Algerian star later reported that the belts strapping him in were “twisted” which seemed to be the cause of his discomfort. Cameras mounted on board his car showed him trying to adjust the belts while driving whenever he could,TV footage then showed Racing Bulls staff trying to resolve the issue in the garage.On several occasions he winced and tightly closed his eyes because of the pain he was feeling as his mechanics tried to sort out his seat belt.Hadjar fears were understandable after he crashed on his F1 debut during a formation lap at the Australian GP – leaving him in tears.Japanese GP Qualifying: Top 101) Max Verstappen, Red Bull2) Lando Norris, McLaren3) Oscar Piastri, McLaren4) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari5) George Russell, Mercedes6) Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes7) Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls8) Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari9) Alex Albon, Williams10) Oliver Bearman, HaasMeanwhile, Hadjar’s newly returning team-mate Liam Lawson – who was dropped by Red Bull last week – qualified in 14th.But he ironically beat his replacement driver Yuki Tsunoda, who drove the RB21 for the first time ever at his home GP.Meanwhile, Red Bull star Max Verstappen produced a major upset after snatching pole position from McLaren’s Lando Norris.Verstappen delivered a time of 1:26.983 – the fastest lap in Suzuka history.The Dutchman took a fourth successive Suzuka pole as the top three were left separated by less than half a tenth of a second.Read More on The SunRed Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “That was one of his best laps in qualifying ever. We did not expect that. Outstanding.”Max extracted every ounce of performance. He got the most out of it today and getting that pole position was completely against the form we had been seeing. A big lift for the team.”Max Verstappen produced a major upset after snatching pole positionCredit: Rex More

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    Ferrari make major update to Lewis Hamilton’s F1 steering wheel with special feature he used at Mercedes

    LEWIS HAMILTON has received a major update to his Formula One car for the Japanese Grand Prix.The Ferrari driver has endured a mixed start with his new team, winning the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint Race but scoring just one championship point during the two Sunday feature races.Lewis Hamilton has seen a major upgrade brought to his Ferrari for the Japanese Grand PrixCredit: ReutersHamilton has asked for his steering wheel to include more information like it did when he was at MercedesCredit: AFPHamilton scored P4 in both practice sessions with the new wheelCredit: RexHowever, the seven-time F1 world champion will see a welcome upgrade for this weekend’s race with a feature brought over from his old team Mercedes.Hamilton has already been forced to hold a meeting with race engineer, Riccardo Adami, to outline what information he wants passed over from the pit wall.He has been consistently asking for changes to his car configuration, but has now seen a huge adjustment made to his steering wheel with new software being added to give him direct access to more data.Motorsport revealed how Hamilton’s steering wheel in the SF-25 had been given a new lever for the clutch and gear shift.READ MORE IN F1But a fresh report has detailed how Ferrari have tried to replicate the automation seen on Hamilton’s Mercedes steering wheel on to their own with a specially developed software.In addition to the classic indicators seen on an F1 steering wheel such as speed, gear, time and delta, Hamilton’s wheel features information on the race screen including engine mappings used.The upper left of the screen has an indicator of the SOC (hybrid management) and the ENG engine map used so he is always aware of which configuration is being used.At Mercedes much of the Power Unit information was linked to a single STRAT lever located in the lower part of the steering wheel which was grouped together into three areas.Most read in MotorsportBEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UKAt Ferrari many of these elements were split, with the simplified Mercedes model being another change Hamilton has asked for.Elsewhere, under the box that indicates engine mapping, there is a space dedicated to what Ferrari call “Multi”.Lewis Hamilton recreates amazing Ferrari scene from ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ as fans demand he wins an Oscar This gives Hamilton access to secondary engine settings which he is said to have always wanted access to.The changes have not been implemented for Scuderia team-mate Charles Leclerc, who prefers to have less data on his screen during a lap.Hamilton finished in P4 in both practice sessions on Friday.FP2 was hit by chaos as FOUR red flags were waved thanks to a huge 185mph crash by Alpine rookie Jack Doohan and Fernando Alonso beaching his Aston Martin before two trackside grass fires.Elsewhere, the driver Hamilton replaced at Ferrari, Carlos Sainz, had an embarrassing gaffe with Williams as he missed his box to change tyres – blasting “oh s***” down the team radio as he realised.Charles Leclerc is not having the change done to his wheelCredit: Reuters More

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    How much is Lewis Hamilton being paid by Ferrari this season?

    LEWIS HAMILTON’s blockbuster move to Scuderia Ferrari shocked the world of motorsport – and with it came terms Mercedes couldn’t match.The seven-time world champion was Mercedes’ golden boy, but a failed boardroom role and under-performance on the track led to a split and Hamilton moving to Ferrari.Lewis Hamilton has signed a mega-money deal with FerrariCredit: PAHamilton is the highest paid Ferrari driver of all time – double what Michael Schumacher was offered at his peakCredit: gettyAt the Brackley-based team, Hamilton, 40, continued to be the biggest star in the sport and one that brought immeasurable amounts of marketability and attention.His Formula One resume on the track remained incredible and he commanded a wage packet amongst the sport’s highest ever earners.Hamilton’s Mercedes contract, which contained a break clause which he activated, had him earning around £43MILLION per year.Money is reported to have been less of a reason of his departure, with the biggest reason said to be Hamilton wanting to be a valued member of the organisation after his racing career. READ MORE IN F1 He has also received a significant pay-rise for his two-year deal, however.How much is Lewis Hamilton being paid by Ferrari this season?Hamilton will earn a base salary of £48m annually.The former McLaren star remains behind Red Bull driver and modern rival Max Verstappen in annual salary.Verstappen’s £58.9 million-a-year deal keeps him, once again, at the top of the standings.Most read in MotorsportHamilton’s contract with Ferrari runs until the end of 2026, with an option for 2027. Hamilton will also earn additional bonuses should he win races this season.The Stevenage-born superstar will also obtain the sought after ambassador role he craved on a multi-year deal. He supersedes new team-mate Charles Leclerc, who is earning £21.2 million a year including bonuses.Whilst fellow British drivers George Russell and Lando Norris, take home £18.1 million and £27.5 million respectively. More

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    ‘Lewis Hamilton was surprised to hear what happened’ – Timo Glock opens up on death threats after Brit’s maiden F1 title

    TIMO GLOCK was scared to leave the house after being hit with death threats over claims he helped Lewis Hamilton win the world title in 2008. It was the German who was overtaken by Hamiltonon the last corner, of the last lap, of the last race 17 years ago in Brazil to win his maiden title by a single point.Lewis Hamilton won his maiden world title in 2008 with McLaren in the dying moments of the last race of the yearCredit: AFPHamilton overtook Glock who was struggling on dry tyres on an increasingly wet surfaceCredit: Getty Images – GettyHis girlfriend at the time Nicole Sherzinger celebrated wildly at the last-gasp winCredit: YouTube/FORMULA 1The whole McLaren garage went bezerk as Hamilton overtook Glock on the last corner of the last lapCredit: YouTube/FORMULA 1The title fight between Hamilton at McLaren and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa that year went down to the final race. Victory for Massa and a sixth place or lower finish for Hamilton would have secured Massa the title at his home race.Starting the final lap, Hamilton was in sixth place,  but overtook Glock at the final corner as the German driver struggled with dry tyres in the rain.Ferrari’s garage even began boisterous celebrations before victory was snatched away from them in the dying moments, leaving Massa’s dad stunned and a mechanic headbutting the wall in frustration. read more F1 storiesFormer F1 driver and Sky Sports pundit Glock told casino.org: “I don’t think he (Hamilton) ever realised the full impact of it all. “I was happy social media wasn’t as big then as it was now, or I’d definitely have been in even more trouble than I was.”It didn’t have an impact on my career. I just thought about what happened there, and I don’t think I did anything wrong.“Felipe or Lewis didn’t realise what was going on in the background, or what was going on with my side of things. Most read in Motorsport”I had an interview with Lewis two or three years ago, where we talked about 2008. He was surprised to hear what happened with me, in the aftermath of it all.”Timo Glock has opened up about that dayCredit: GettyFelipe Massa’s dad thought his son had won the title in Brazil but was left stunnedCredit: YouTube/FORMULA 1A Ferrari mechanic even headbutted the wall in frustrationCredit: YouTube/FORMULA 1Hamilton went on to win six more titles, leaving him the joint all-time record holder with Schumacher on sevenCredit: HandoutGlock, who was driving for Toyota at the time, received death threats after the raceCredit: AFPGlock had to get a police escort to the airport following the race in Sao Paulo, with officers walking him on to the plane. He received hate mail telling him he should be banned from racing and death threats once returning home. Many people’s views of events changed after F1 released in-car footage of Glock struggling to keep a dry-shod car on track amid increasingly wet conditions.He added: “I think because social media wasn’t as prominent, nobody saw what was happening. In general, I just tried to get on with my job. “It was still weird to go to Brazil the following year, or years even, but at the end of the day, it was a big story and it’s still mentioned whenever that race comes up in the calendar. “Overall, I have no problems with it. It’s all in the past now.” Glock reckons Hamilton can grab a record eighth title with Ferrari, with him currently level with Michael Schumacher on seven. Hamilton suffered heartbreak at the Chinese Grand Prix last time out when he was disqualified for the skid block on his car being half a millimetre under the minimum width. Ferrari need to get their act together in Japan on April 4-6 with his teammate Charles Leclerc also disqualified after the race due to his car being underweight. This came after Hamilton’s heroic victory in the sprint race on Saturday, which bagged him eight points in the table. Glock said: “I think he can win a title with Ferrari. “If the car suits him and the package is there, he will be challenging at the right end of proceedings for sure. It’s of course his ultimate goal.Read More on The Sun”He will push and try everything to reach that. It will be interesting to see how his first part of the season goes. “I think it will give us a good idea of how he will get on generally at Ferrari after the first half of the 2025 season.”  More

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    F1 mechanic reveals running joke in pitlane about Nicole Scherzinger and Lewis Hamilton’s on-off relationship

    A FORMER Lewis Hamilton Formula One mechanic has revealed a running joke in the pitlane about his tumultous relationship with Nicole Scherzinger.Hamilton dated the former Pussycats Dolls singer between 2007 and 2015 in what was a highly publicised on-off relationship.Lewis Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger had an on-off relationship between 2007 and 2015Credit: GettyFormer F1 mechanic Marc Priestley has revealed how there was a joke about how the relationship impacted his performancesCredit: RexHamilton openly called Scherzinger ‘lucky’ for him at the timeCredit: Getty – ContributorAnd Hamilton was clearly impacted by the shifting circumstances of his love life, with ex-McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley revealing there was a running joke about how it changed his performances on track.Speaking on the Pitlane Life Lessons podcast, Priestley revealed: “When he first came into this sport, we used to joke amongst the team that Lewis’s performance was so intrinsically linked to the state of their relationship.”As in, on a good day, he performed well. When their relationship was in the doldrums, and they were so off and on, it was a bit like an emotional roller coaster.”When he was in these low points in the relationship, you could clearly track the performance in the car to the way their relationship status seemed to be.READ MORE IN F1“We joked that there seemed to be more lap time in keeping those two together than there ever could be with anything we could do with the car!”Hamilton and Scherzinger announced their first split in 2010, three years after they started dating months after his McLaren debut in 2007.They were then back together months later, which sparked a famous Hamilton win at the Turkish Grand Prix that season – his first F1 win in 245 days.Hamilton said at the time Scherzinger was “lucky” for him before they decisively split up in 2015.Most read in MotorsportBEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UKHer eventual final showing in the F1 paddock came at the 2014 season finale in Abu Dhabi when he won his first driver’s championship with Mercedes.Priestley continued: “But there was a serious point to that, in that it was about understanding and appreciating that Lewis’s emotional state clearly affected his performance…Yuki Tsunoda explains why he is the right driver for Red Bull’s Formula 1 team “Lewis is a guy who’s quite emotional. He wears his heart on his sleeve so, without the ability to really control those emotions to the level that some other people might be able to do or might find easier to do, we were faced with an unbelievably talented racing driver whose performance was, in some way, affected by how his emotional state was, which varied greatly at different times over a race weekend or a season.”Priestley explained how Hamilton’s mental state could lead to him coming across as petulant in press conferences with one-word answers before “disappearing” during the evening.He added: “As engineers, our only goal was to try and improve things so that it could be better the next day or the next time out.”To get the driver, who’s a key part of that debrief, in a state where he’s just throwing petulance [with] answers that are unhelpful to you because he’s so down, that’s not in any way productive and doesn’t help us get closer to a solution.”But he’d often go away on a Saturday night, he’d disappear, and I wouldn’t see him on a Saturday evening. He would sometimes even cancel commitments to sponsors and partners. “He would disappear and shut himself in a room, and he probably pondered over it for quite some time, digging himself into an even bigger and deeper hole, is how he’s described it to me in years gone by.”He mulled it over in his mind and continued to tell himself that same story – that he wasn’t doing a good enough job. He would beat himself up emotionally. “He would completely reiterate the negative thought processes that he’d been having that afternoon right through into the night until he went to sleep.”However, Hamilton has always had an amazing ability to shake off negativity and bounce back. One of his most famous phrases is “still we rise”, and Priestley believes that has been one of the biggest parts of his success.He said: “But one thing he was quite good at was waking up the next day with a fresh perspective. He always said to me that this was a new day, a new set of opportunities.””This was a case of coming in to try and do it better. If you ever see a TV interview on a Sunday morning after a Saturday afternoon where he struggled in qualifying, even today, that’s generally what you get.”You get a new Lewis Hamilton where he’s no longer down. He’s no longer struggling with emotions. He’s now got this fresh perspective where he sees nothing but opportunity in front of him.“He may not have expectations that he might have had going into Saturday. His expectations might have had to be reset but, in doing so, he takes away some pressure. “He relieves himself of that burden that was overwhelming him on a Saturday. And we go into Sunday with a Lewis that’s there, ready to take the opportunities, to push like crazy.“How often do we see a way better Sunday than we see him have on a Saturday? That was the same quite often, even way back when he first came into the sport working with us at McLaren.”Hamilton’s final year with McLaren would come in 2012 before he joined Mercedes.He would go on to win six driver’s titles with the Silver Arrows before he joined Ferrari in 2025, ending the most successful partnership F1 has ever seen.The now 40-year-old has had a hit-and-miss start to life with the Scuderia, finishing P10 at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix before winning his first Ferrari race in the Sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix a week later.READ MORE SUN STORIESHamilton finished P6 in the feature race before disaster struck as Ferrari suffered a double disqualification, with the Briton’s car being found to have excessive wear on its skid block.The next race will be at the Japanese Grand Prix, where Yuki Tsunoda has now been confirmed to have swapped with Liam Lawson to be Max Verstappen’s new Red Bull team-mate. More

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    Who is Michael Schumacher’s brother Ralf? F1 driver turned Sky Sports commentator 

    THE name Schumacher rings a massive bell in motorsport – but seven-time champion Michael isn’t the only one in the family to have don an Formula One overall.While Michael Schumacher dominated F1 for a decade and a half, his brother Ralf was also a factor on the grid at the time.Ralf Schumacher spent a decade racing in F1Credit: GettyThe Schumacher brothers are the only siblings to have both won Formula 1 races in the sport’s historyCredit: GettyRalf Schumacher still works in the sportCredit: GettyRalf may have been the inferior driver throughout the pair’s time, but he still managed to have a very good career in the sport.Although they were never team-mates, the siblings are the most successful family pairing in F1 as the only siblings to have both won races in the sport’s history.Career on the tracksBorn and raised in North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany, Ralf is the second son of Rolf Schumacher, a bricklayer, and his wife Elisabeth.He started karting in his formative years and was a prodigious racer in junior karting.READ MORE IN F1He won the NRW Cup, the Gold Cup and German Junior Kart Championship across two years before moving up to senior level, where he finished runner-up. Ralf later finished third in the 1994 German Formula 3 Championship which catapulted him into the Formula Nippon Series, driving for the Team Le Mans.He was the first driver to clinch the championship in his rookie season.A spot in F1 was inevitable and after testing with McLaren in the autumn of 1996, Schumacher signed a three-year contract to drive for Eddie Jordan’s team, Jordan.Most read in MotorsportThe following season he would secure the first podium of his career in Argentina with a third-place finish.The arrival of Damon Hill in the 1998 season would complicate Schumacher’s relationship with Jordan as a team orders scenario denied him his first race win.Older brother Michael then bought him out of his £2million contract, with Mick then joining Williams. He finished the 1999 season sixth and was rewarded with a three-year deal worth £31m – despite a campaign littered with race retirements.His six-year association with the Oxfordshire-based team saw five wins, two fourth-place finishes and two fifth-place finishes.Ralf’s final season with the team, 2004, saw him race just 12 times and finish only ninth in the standings.He next signed a three-year deal with Japanese manufacturer Toyota, finishing sixth in his first season but then slipping down to 10th and 16th.Attempts to return back to the sport, notably with Red Bull sister team Toro Rosso, and Force India never materialised.A stint in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series – return back to sports car racing – would merely signal official retirement from competitive racing, which came in 2012. Post-racing venturesFollowing his retirement from active motorsport in March 2013, Schumacher remained within the industry. He took up a management role at auto racing Mucke Motorsport which sees him assists in the mentoring of young drivers signed with Mercedes-Benz.In 2019, Schumacher became a pundit and co-commentator at Formula One races for Sky Sports Germany.Personal lifeSchumacher was married to German model and media personalty Cora-Caroline Brinkman. The pair giving birth to their son David a couple weeks after marriage in October 2001.David now also competes in motorsport with Haupt Racing Team.READ MORE SUN STORIESSchumacher married on October 2001 in a private civil ceremony at the couple’s home in AustriaCredit: GettySchumacher first shared he was gay when he took to social media to share the storyCredit: InstagramHowever, the two would divorce after an acrimonious period of separation in 2015. Nine years on, Schumacher announced on social media that he has been in a same-sex relationship with his partner of two years, 34-year-old Etienne Bousquet-Cassagne. More

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    Who is Michael Schumacher’s son Mick? Former Mercedes driver who has found new motorsport seat

    THERE’S a certain weight that comes with being the son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher – and son Mick has found all about it in recent years. Mick, 26, had been tipped to succeed his father’s impeccable racing standards the second he set foot in a karting track.MickSchumacher’s time at Haas was mistake-ladenCredit: AFPSebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher have had a striking relationship throughout the yearsCredit: AlamySchumacher last role in F1 was with MercedesCredit: GettyHowever, Michael Schumacher’s youngest child has found his competitive motorsport career dwindling.Mick was last seen in a Formula 1 pit garage last December as a reserve driver for Mercedes.He left his position at the end of the 2024 season to focus on his newfound role in endurance racing.Nowadays, he is striving to get back to the elite staring of the racing world. READ MORE IN F1Life in father’s footsteps Born and raised in the Swiss village Vufflens-le-Chateau, Schumacher was born into a racing royalty with his father and uncle Ralf both in F1.The generational success that his father set that weighed heaviest in his formative years in racing and beyond.Mick had a good karting career – fishing runner-up at the World and European level – before making the jump to European Formula 3, winning the championship in his final season with Prema Racing.He would follow that up with another title Formula 2 in 2020 ahead of Brit Callum Ilott and future Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda. Most read in MotorsportMick had test drives with Alfa Romeo and Haas – aided by his association with the Ferrari Driver Academy – then signed with the latter as a full-time driver in 2021.Schumacher’s two-season F1 career was characterised by rookie blunders and team deficiencies, initially alongside controversial team-mate Nikita Mazepin – son of Belarusian-Russian oligarch and sponsor Dmitry – and than outperformed by Kevin Magnussen.In his second season, the German driver scored his first and second lot of points in back-to-back weekends at Silverstone and the Red Bull Ring in Austria, where he registered a career-best sixth finish.However, Schumacher was released from his contract going into the 2023 season as the team altered direction with successor and racing journeyman Nico Hulkenberg.Recently, he has served as a reserve driver for both Mercedes and McLaren – not suiting up for either team. Track switch Schumacher made his first ventures into the World Endurance Championship with Alpine while still occupying his reserve driver duties.Schumacher has continued to race with Alpine’s World Endurance Championship six-man Hypercar team full-time after achieving his maiden podium finish at the 6 Hours of Fuji. Additionally, Schumacher also competed in the 2025 Race of Champions in Sydney at the start of the month alongside family friend Sebastian Vettel with Will Brown pipping him to a semi-final spot in the main draw. Racing future Schumacher still harbours hopes of returning to F1 as a driver with the 2026 new regulations era providing the first real opening for a seat, particularly with Cadillac’s incoming arrival to the grid. “Formula One has always been my dream and will always be my dream. But the WEC is the number one priority,” he told Sky Germany. “That requires 100 per cent dedication.”READ MORE SUN STORIESHe went on to add: “My dream is a dream, but when I’m in the car, I’m 100 per cent in the car. The dream lives on in the moments when I have free time and can think about it.”Cadillac have expressed a public interest in signing an American driver with a big-name, and in motorsport, it doesn’t get bigger Schumacher. More