Schumacher ’ready’ for new Ferrari role in 2022

Mick Schumacher has set his sights on regular appearances in Q2 this year as he prepares for his second season in Formula 1.

The son of F1 great Michael Schumacher spent much of the off-season with his sister Gina at the family’s horse ranch in Texas.

"I am ready for the new season and would like to start tomorrow," Schumacher, 22, told Sky Deutschland.

"Sebastian (Vettel) and I are looking forward to the Race of Champions. He is not going to practice but I will, so we will see if we get good results.

"But the main thing is to have fun."

The German’s full focus is on Formula 1, where his Ferrari-powered team Haas has been concentrating on its all-new car for 2022 for arguably longer than any other rival.

"Soon I will see the finished car and I hope I can test it in Barcelona," said Schumacher.

"I kept in touch with the team every day, we discussed how the new car is going and how we can close the gap. In my opinion, there are already a lot of positive things to look forward to.

"Let’s see how it is on the track, but it seems to me that everyone is in a good mood. There were no major changes in our team - a couple of mechanics left, a few new ones arrived, but my race engineer Gary Gannon is the same."

He expects the 2022 cars to be "more nervous" than in 2021, requiring the drivers to "change our styles".

"But I’m in a good mood. I remember Formula 2 also switched from 13-inch to 18-inch tyres so I know what to expect even though Formula 1 is different of course.

"If I manage to regularly qualify for the second part of qualifying and get some points, I will be happy. That is my personal goal and it coincides with the goals of the team," the German added.

"No one knows how things will go due to the regulation changes, but we started making our car very early and I hope it gives us a slight advantage over the rest."

Schumacher will pair his racing duties at Haas this year while also filling in as Ferrari’s official reserve driver when Antonio Giovinazzi is busy with Formula E.

When asked about the Maranello based team and his new role, he answered: "I will be glad to drive a Ferrari someday, but right now I am focused on Haas.

"However, if Ferrari needs my help, I’m ready.

"My goal is to make progress with Haas and then see what the future holds. If I succeed here, then perhaps everything can go the way I need next year," Mick concluded.