Mick Schumacher says he often undertakes a thorough inspection of some of his rivals' tyres after a race as the scrutiny is like an "open book" that provides "some good knowledge".
The Haas driver says his habit of lingering in parc fermé after a race to analyse his fellow competitors' tyres - a practice in which his legendary father also often indulged - goes all the way back to his karting days.
Schumacher relies on the routine as a source of some interesting knowledge, including mistakes and useful details, associated with his rivals' cars.
"It is something that I have been doing since karting, really," he said. "It is always good to know, especially how the tyres look on other cars, and to see if I can understand and learn from that.
"Tyres are like an open book. They will show you every little mistake and every little detail or other cars and also of my car. So I guess inspecting other cars is always a part of that, and I will keep doing that.
"Plus, parc fermé is when I would get closest to another car. I can’t walk in anybody’s garage and say, ‘Hi there, I am just going to check out your car and then leave’. So, definitely, it is interesting to look at it."
Schumacher has acquitted himself well this season with Haas, steering clear of trouble on the track and focusing on learning while also outpacing his teammate.
Points will remain a tall order moving forward, but the 22-year-old whose sense of commitment and work ethic have been praised by team boss Guenther Steiner is satisfied so far with his maiden campaign in F1
"I am relatively happy with how it is going but obviously performance-wise it is tough," he admitted.
"Nonetheless we managed to get our way around and we are able to work well together.
"I totally enjoy my time here so much that it is easy for me to come to work and work late because it is so enjoyable.
"I think that really reflects in my performance. That is what is important to me, that the hard work will pay off at some point and I hope that it does."
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