Former Scuderia Ferrari boss Cesare Fiorio played down the hype surrounding Mick Schumacher after the Ferrari junior's impressive F1 baptism of fire in Bahrain.
Fiorio - who was the Scuderia's acting sporting director from 1989 to 1991 - says too much has been made of the young German who still has a lot to prove.
"In Formula 2 he's driving for Prema, a very competitive team," said the 79-year-old Fiorio, speaking to Italian website Tuttomotoriweb.
"Yet he was eighth and sixth in Bahrain, after starting from pole on the reverse grid."
Fiorio was also unconvinced by Schumacher's merits in this week's in-season test at Sakhir, where the young German finished runner-up to Red Bull's Max Verstappen on the first day of testing.
"It's true he finished second in testing, but no one was really pushing," argues Fiorio.
"Verstappen was faster than Schumacher with tyres that were two steps harder than his.
"I think he's just being hyped and there is a lot of attention on him, nothing more."
Some people will need a bit more time before they see the light…
Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Fred Vasseur has made it clear that Ferrari’s decision to publicly address speculation over his…
Max Verstappen emerged from Formula 1’s first day back at Sepang with plenty of encouragement…
Lewis Hamilton escaped with little more than a slap on the wrist after impeding Audi’s…
George Russell resisted the temptation to draw any grand conclusions from Mercedes’ much-anticipated W17 upgrade…
A sweltering Friday in Sepang delivered a hectic opening day as Max Verstappen and Charles…
Flavio Briatore has drawn a line under Alpine’s bruising Azerbaijan Grand Prix, admitting he was…