Mick Schumacher said he requested Formula One give him the ‘MSC’ timing screen initials made famous by his father Michael.
Schumacher, the son of the seven-time world champion, is making his F1 debut with Haas this year.
F1’s timing screen shows names abbreviated into three letters. In previous years, Schumacher had raced as ‘SCH’, but his father had raced as ‘MSC’ to distinguish from his brother Ralf Schumacher.
Schumacher asked F1 if he could adopt his father’s abbreviation for this season, which has been how his name has appeared on the timing screens for preseason testing in Bahrain this week.
“I wanted ‘MSC’,” Schumacher said. “It’s an emotional bond I have to it.
“I think it’s quite nice for everybody watching the timing screens and seeing ‘MSC’ back on the screens as well.”
Schumacher is making his F1 debut in a year when it has just three days of testing, down from six last year and eight in 2019. Despite that, the German said he would be ready to race tomorrow if he had to.
“The race can’t come quick enough,” he said, speaking about the Bahrain Grand Prix of March 28.
“I’m really looking forward to to the season. I would love to drive every day. I could put another eight days in and just go straight into the race weekend.”