Mick Schumacher, the son of Formula One great Michael, marked the 25th anniversary of his father’s first Grand Prix victory by driving a lap in the German’s championship-winning 1994 Benetton car ahead of the Belgian race yesterday. The Belgian Grand Prix is inseparably linked with the seven-time world champion as he made his debut there in 1991, won his first race at Spa-Francorchamps in 1992 and delivered many spectacular races in the often damp conditions at the winding hillside track.
For the excited spectators in the grandstands it was an opportunity to again see Michael’s car in which he clinched the 1994 title in a nail-biting finish in Adelaide, pipping Britain’s Damon hill by one point. “I never experienced so big an audience in motor sports. I’m very happy that I was allowed to drive here,” said 18-year-old Mick after parking the 1994 Benetton.
Mick, ranked 11th in the European Formula Three Championships after a more successful stint in Formula Four, said the 23-year-old car felt unfamiliar. “You feel that it fits differently, it is not adapted to me. Everything is just that little bit different,” Mick said. Michael left the public limelight after a near-fatal skiing accident in 2013 in which he sustained severe head injuries. Mick did not discuss his father’s health yesterday.

Verstappen frustrated by early exit in front of ‘home’ crowd
Dutch Formula One driver Max Verstappen said he felt frustrated by his early exit from the Belgian Grand Prix yesterday and equipment faults such as the one he experienced should not happen to a top team. Verstappen, who drew a sell-out crowd of orange-clad fans from his nearby home country, departed from fifth on the grid but had to retire on lap eight when his Red Bull car spluttered to a halt at the famous Eau Rouge corner. Shaking his head, Verstappen yelled “unbelievable” into the team radio before leaving his car and riding back to the pits on a quad bike.
“I lost power and everything was done. It is really frustrating,” Verstappen said after the race. In 12 races this season, Verstappen has failed to make it to the chequered flag six times, often sidelined by technical issues with his car. “There are so many fans paying a lot for the tickets and you finish like this. That cannot happen with a top team,” Verstappen said. Verstappen, son of former Formula One driver Jos, became the Netherlands’ first-ever winner in Formula One when he took the Spanish Grand Prix in 2016.