Schumacher work ethic 'very similar' to father, says Haas

Mick Schumacher's work ethic is "very similar" to his father Michael's approach to his job as an F1 driver according to former Ferrari staff working at Haas.

The 22-year-old rookie will step into the limelight this weekend in Bahrain and begin his career as a Grand Prix driver, following in the footsteps of his legendary father.

Schumacher will serve his apprenticeship at Haas this season, where several former members of the Scuderia who worked in the past with Michael Schumacher are included in the young gun's crew.

Haas team boss Guenther Steiner conveyed their view that the rookie is a chip off the old block when it comes to his dedication and commitment to F1.

"I've never worked with [Michael] and I didn't know him that well, so I only know from the press and from TV that he was a hard worker," Steiner told Motorsport.com.

"We have a few people from Ferrari with us who have already worked with Michael, and they tell me what it was like. They knew Michael very well.

"They were very emotional when Mick came to us. They explain to me how Michael worked, and I think Mick is very similar.

"He works hard, he wants to know everything, he wants to learn, he just wants to get better - every day, every hour, every minute."

Haas embarks this week on a transition season, with the US outfit already channeling its resources towards its 2022 program and the design of an all-new car based on F1's future regulation platform.

Steiner warns that good results will be hard to come by this year for his team and its pair of rookie drivers. The Italian insists 2021 will be first and foremost a year of learning for Schumacher.

• Read also: Schumacher 'on his own' at Haas, won't learn much - Ecclestone

"This year Mick won't have any great results, because he doesn't have the material for it," he said.

"But the big result for Mick will be that he learns as much as he can and is ready when our car gets better, when his future starts.

"He's not just here for two years, which is usually in Formula 2 or Formula 3. He's here for a long career. The first year in Formula 1 is always difficult when you get there, to be there right away and to be competitive. The material plays a huge role here.

"Knowing what kind of material [we have] this year – I don't want to downplay it now – but we made a decision that we're not going to develop this year in order to fully focus on next year.

"That's why we can't expect Mick to be P1 or P2 after the first qualifying session."

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