Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey says that he would love to see the Schumacher name return to the sport in the future, referring to Michael Schumacher's son Mick, who will race in Formula 2 next year.
The German won the FIA Formula 3 European Championship last season, and signed with the Ferrari Driver Academy over the winter break. He has been tipped for a future drive in F1, which Carey says would be "great" for the pinnacle series.
“I know Michael Schumacher is a hero, second to none, in the sport. It’s wonderful to have his son in Formula 2 and realistically we wish him all the best," Carey said to Sky Sports F1."We can’t predict success but I think it’s great.
“We have tried to make Formula 3 and Formula 2 a little bit more of a visible ladder to F1 and so I think having some stories around Formula 3 and Formula 2 will help us elevate those and make those part of the larger story.
"F1 is always going to be the pinnacle but we’d like it to be where the stars of tomorrow get a little bit more traction. Mick is a great story and we are incredibly excited to have him on the track this season.”
Michael retired from F1 at the end of the 2012 season, after spending three years with Mercedes. In late 2013, he was involved in a skiing accident, and has been kept out of the public eye since."
Carey also heaped praise on Lewis Hamilton, who won his fifth world drivers' championship last season. Carey believes that the Briton belongs in the all-time great categories, labelling his 2018 campaign as "really special".
“I think you can’t help but admire what Lewis has achieved, he is one of the all-time greats,” Carey said. “What he did last year was really special. You can’t help but admire unique talent and unique capabilities in a record-setting sense.
“On the one level, you always want the underdog to win but on the flip side when I say the sport is about heroes, today there is no bigger hero than Lewis Hamilton.”
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Replies (3)
Login to replyblade
Posts: 341
Box office, F1 as a spectacle is better for Ham's presence, aside Max, where are the other characters? A far cry from Hunt, Rorberg Snr, Mansell, Senna etc etc. Liberty need the Hamilton effect (draw for money) as the sport, sadly, is a little predictable in this current age - the biggest issues Liberty have still not delivered on, tracks you can overtake on, removal of tyre management at its extreme end, fairer distribution of income/prize money and an end to manufacturers' B teams...... I keep saying these thing in the vain hope someone on Liberty actually reads this stuff....
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I don't really see why people seem to think we lack characters as of late? We have Hammy, Vettel, the Haas drivers, Max (truth varies on that one) and Ricciardo, to mention a few on top of me head. And Gasly and Ocon ain't exactly quite, while Leclerc seem to be a budding star both in terms of manners and driving. Hell, Kimi might be a bit quiet, but even he is arguably a character.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
There is potential, but in terms of box office characters, the ones recognize for things other than what happened on track... that only Hamilton and Alonso were in the conversation. As for the rest, Ricciardo, Verstappen, and others, they're up and coming. Kimi is a special case because he WAS a special character. He's a shell of that character now.