Mick Schumacher recounts "very special" Jordan test-drive

Schumacher at Silverstone — Photo: © LAT Images

Mick Schumacher

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Schumacher recounts "very special" Jordan test-drive

Mick has driven a number of his father's Formula 1 cars

Sam Hall

Monday 23 August 2021 15:19 Updated: 15:25

Mick Schumacher has compared the simplicity of his father Michael's Jordan 191 to that of a go-kart after recently completing a "very special" test at Silverstone.

Thirty years ago in the Belgian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher made his F1 debut with Jordan in the stunning car.

Filming at Silverstone with Karun Chandhok for a Sky Sports F1 feature that will mark the anniversary of the seven-time champion's launch into F1, Mick shared the experience of his father.

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"[There is] a very little amount of buttons on the steering wheel but it feels like a go-kart, the ’91 car, because you have tyres, an engine and a chassis and that is it," he said.

“Already when I drove the 2002 and 2004 Ferrari, the number of changes you can take on that steering wheel – the traction control, the paddle-shift – that is very different to the ’91 car.

“It’s crazy to think about how far out you sit in that car. The shoulders were just popping out of the monocoque and then the front is very high so if you slide down you don’t see much."

He added: "The emotions and feeling and knowing that my dad raced this car as his first F1 car is very special.”

Jordan 191 "pure racing"

The technology of F1 has always been cutting-edge, but Schumacher reflected on the simplicity of the older machinery.

"I have to say, just pure racing, the engine…you can see everything," he explained.

"Nowadays, with the battery and the hybrid and stuff, a lot of things are covered so you don’t really see the engine, only if it is taken apart.

“But in that car, you actually see how the fuel runs into the engine. It was very good.

“Driving-wise, unfortunately, I didn’t have a seat in it. I only had a bit of foam, so I was sliding around a lot and especially in every braking area, I was sliding so far down that I didn’t see the track anymore.

“So after every braking [zone] I had to push myself back up to see something."