Kevin Magnussen says his collaboration so far with Haas teammate Mick Schumacher has convinced him that the young German "really has what it takes" to be in Formula 1.
Schumacher joined the elite last season on the back of a victorious campaign in the FIA Formula 2 Championship.
But the 23-year-old endured a difficult baptism of with Haas, the US outfit fielding a car deprived of any development as all resources were channeled towards the team's 2022 contender.
Given his famous lineage, many believe that Schumacher owes his seat in F1 to his name. But a month of working alongside the son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher has convinced Magnussen that his teammate is the real deal.
"He’s obviously very talented – he won F3, he won F2 before F1, so I feel like he deserves to be here," said Magnussen.
"It’s kind of tough because he has this surname. His dad is the biggest Formula 1 driver ever, and some people may think that he is here just because he is a Schumacher – but he really has what it takes to be here.
"He has done what is needed [to be in F1], maybe more. Maybe more: some drivers got here and didn’t win F3, like myself.
"I finished second in F3 and loads of other drivers in F1 didn’t win everything before."
So far, Magnussen has been impressed by the qualities displayed by Schumacher, starting with his thirst for knowledge.
"He’s a super nice guy, very down to earth, very polite. He’s good with everyone, everyone likes him," continued Magnussen.
"Immediately, he’s been very open, he’s very keen to learn, he’s asking questions. And you don’t always have that between drivers; sometimes they are too proud or whatever, so they don’t want to work together.
“Maybe some drivers are scared of showing weakness or whatever, but Mick does not really care about that – he just wants to learn.
"I feel like in the debriefings his feedback is good, and he doesn’t make excuses, he's very honest with the team if there is something that was his mistake, he is open about that.
"He’s not trying to find excuses, so I feel like his attitude is very good."
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