Nico Rosberg says the pressure of bearing a famous last name will make Mick Schumacher's debut in F1 this year "ten times more difficult" than for any other rookie.
The path to the pinnacle of motorsport of Michael Schumacher's son is well chronicled, with the Ferrari Driver Academy member owing his promotion to F1 with Haas to the Scuderia's support after winning last year's FIA Formula 2 Championship.
But for Schumacher, competing at the highest level won't be the 21-year-old's single source of pressure according to Rosberg who, as the son of 1982 F1 world champion Keke Rosberg, knows all about the high expectations that come with a famous name.
"It is not easy to be the ‘son of’," Rosberg told F1 Insider, dwelling on his own personal experience.
"With Mick it is again ten times more difficult because Michael’s days weren’t that long ago and he was even more successful.
"The media attention will be great, initially probably even greater than that of Lewis Hamilton."
Rosberg hopes the Haas rookie will take it all in his stride and keep his attention focused on the job at hand.
"I hope that Mick can put that aside and concentrate on his job – otherwise it takes away a lot of the fun," added the 2016 F1 world champion.
"The media won’t give him time but he’ll have to take it for himself. It takes time and patience.
"After all, I had to wait seven years to win my first race and even eleven years to win the title. You have to keep that in mind if you want to rate Mick this year."
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