PARIS • For the winner of the Formula Two world championship to make the step up to F1 is a natural progression that would not normally raise an eyebrow - except when that driver carries a famous name.

Mick Schumacher, son of the seven-time world champion Michael, is in the spotlight as he makes his Formula One debut for Haas in Bahrain on Sunday, but he thoroughly merits his drive.

After starting his career in karting, Schumacher went on to win the Formula 3 European championship in 2018 and the Formula Two title last year. Not a bad resume for a man who turned 22 on Monday. This week, the noise around him will echo with reminders of his father, whose last race in a glittering career came in Brazil at the end of the 2012 season.

The 52-year-old Michael has not been seen in public for more than seven years after a skiing accident, witnessed by Mick, in the French Alps left him with severe brain injuries. But he remains the touchstone for his son.

"I definitely look at what he achieved, and I try to learn from it," said Mick in February.

For the younger generation who arrived on the scene too late to see Michael in action, it is easy to forget how he dominated the sport as much as Lewis Hamilton does today. He won two titles with Benetton before his big move to Ferrari, with whom he won five more titles.

"He's been the benchmark for so long and for me he's still the benchmark, so I'll always refer to him," said Mick. "That's on the sporting side, and on the human side, I'll always admire how his consistency across all those years and how he kept his feet on the ground.

"That's something I appreciate very much, but also something I can learn from and carry through my career."

Former world champion Nico Rosberg, whose father Keke won the title in 1982, 24 years before he debuted in F1, highlighted the extra pressure that Mick would face having a famous father.

"It's not easy to be the 'son of'," he told website Sport1.

"And with Mick, it is 10 times more difficult, because Michael's era was not so long ago and he was much more successful."

There is a good chance, however, that Schumacher will fare better than his dad did when he turned out for Jordan in his first Grand Prix in Belgium in 1991. Michael qualified seventh but a failed clutch meant he did not make it beyond the opening lap of the race.

Whether Schumacher will come anywhere close to 91 race wins and seven world titles, only time will tell.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE