Sainz empathises with Schumacher over famous dad

Carlos Sainz says that he “feels” for Mick Schumacher having to deal with having a famous father within the sport of Formula 1 and trying to follow in his footsteps. Sainz’s father Carlos Sr. and Mick’s father Michael are both world champions, with the latter having won the title on seven occasions.

The McLaren driver claims he had to deal with being known as a famous driver’s son, especially in his younger days, but hopes Schumacher can cope with things in a similar manner.

Mick Schumacher 'very similar' to Michael, say FerrariRead more

“When I was go-karting, especially, I just felt a lot of people were looking at me and my results and the way I was going,” Sainz said.

“A lot of kids, racing drivers were just focusing a bit more on me because of being ‘the son of’.

“It’s something I ended up embracing and getting used to. Although at the time it was tough. I just tried to take the positives from it. Having a double world champion as a father it made me a better driver today.

“I think [Schumacher’s] getting a lot of attention these few last weeks because of the F1 test and that’s why I feel for him. But sometimes media attention is also not bad. I think he’s in a good place right now.”

Sainz believes that the attention he receives when he was younger, with drivers targeting a victory over him, made him improve as a driver as it taught him to be more aggressive on the track.

“Kids sometimes are a bit mean. You want to beat that guy, I want to beat the son of Carlos Sainz more than any other one because maybe his father is watching or more people are watching,” the Spaniard added.

“When I was a kid, definitely that was a thing that I didn’t like.

“And until my dad told me ‘either you fight or you get beaten’, when he told me that I realised I need to start fighting a bit more, if not I’m going to get beaten too often.

“Suddenly I started being a bit more aggressive and I started earning a bit more respect because I didn’t realise I was being a bit too nice, maybe, a bit too friendly with everyone, just wanting to get everyone’s approval. I started being a bit more aggressive and it was better, definitely.”

Schumacher recently joined the Ferrari driver academy and tested for the Scuderia following the Bahrain Grand Prix.

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