Mick Schumacher Q&A: Dutch Grand Prix

This is the second race in the second triple-header of the season. You said during the first triple-header that it was beneficial to spend such time with the team, not only to work together on track but to spend time together off it as well. What are the benefits of a triple-header in your opinion? 
 
“I think the benefits of a triple-header is as I said, getting to spend time with the team both on and off the track, but also in very little time you have to adapt to situations that are different. Things that may have been difficult for us last week won’t necessarily be difficult for us this week. We kind of always have to readapt to what’s ahead and start from a clean sheet, and that trains us for the future when we learn to adapt to situations  quicker. For example, if we start off in a weekend having a difficult car, in little time - maybe by FP2 or FP3 - we will have a car that is where we want it to be.”

This will be the first Dutch Grand Prix in 36 years but you’ve previously raced at Zandvoort in junior categories, most notably achieving a third-place finish during the 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship. How will the current specification of Formula 1 cars tackle the Zandvoort’s iconic banked corners?

“To be honest, I have no idea how it’s going to be! You can drive on the simulator, you can do a whole lot of preparation but the truth is nothing will resemble the truth of how it’s going to be out there in a real car. It’s going to be very important this weekend to approach things with an open mind to see how the car will behave in places. I do know the track from Formula 3. The track has changed in different places – most notably the banked corner in the final part of the track which should allow us to open the DRS sooner and then we have Turn 3 that is also very banked now. We’ll definitely have to see and try out a few things to be able to set-up the car as we want it to be.”

 

It’s a race with a lot of anticipation and excitement for the paddock and fans alike. Part of that excitement will arguably be due to the fact Max Verstappen will be racing in front of his fans, on home soil, for the first time. Currently there isn’t a race in Germany on the calendar - what added expectation or motivation does that give to a driver and how much would you like to race on home soil in a Formula 1 car for the first time?

“I know how it feels to drive on home soil and personally I’d love to drive in Germany in front of my home crowd. I think it does gives you that little bit of extra push but also extra pressure so it’s how you convert that pressure into motivation and drive. It’s going to be nice for Max – you’re going to see lots of orange t-shirts.”