Berlin (AFP) – Mick Schumacher, the 17-year-old son of stricken Formula One legend Michael Schumacher, finished the opening weekend of the German Formula 4 season with a victory at Oschersleben on Sunday.
Having had to settle for fourth place in both of the weekend’s previous races, the teenage Schumacher punched the air with joy after covering the 16 laps in 27:42.096 minutes.
He finished 1.367 seconds ahead of Australia’s Joey Mawson, 20, who had won both of the previous races on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.
“I enjoyed that, that was good,” said Schumacher Jnr, who races for Italy’s Prema Power team.
“The victory in the final race was the perfect ending to an otherwise not so perfect weekend,” he added having twice narrowly missed a podium place at the track near Hannover.
“I’m really happy that I could win from sixth on the grid, and I want to thank my team for giving me such support and such a car.”
Having finished 10th overall on his debut in Germany’s Formula 4 championships last season, Schumacher is now second in the rankings behind Mawson.
It is his second win at Oschersleben having also claimed victory in 2015, as well as two other podium places over the course of the season.
Schumacher is racing in both the German and Italian competitions in 2016 and his next race in Germany is at the Sachsenring, near Chemnitz, in a fortnight.
He earned two wins and a fourth at Misano last weekend on the opening weekend of Italy’s Formula 4 season.
On his website, the German teenager with the famous name wrote that he just wants to keep improving.
“My goal right now is to become a good and complete racing driver. This includes taking things one step at a time and working hard on myself,” he wrote.
His success behind the wheel comes as his father, seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, continues his rehabilitation at home from head injuries suffered in a skiing accident in December 2013.
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