Formula One great says he has recommended young driver to team\u2019s owner
\n HUNGARORING
\nSebastian Vettel on Friday tipped his friend and protege Mick Schumacher to be his successor at Aston Martin next season.
\nThe retirement-bound four-time world champion, who is close friends with his 23-year-old fellow-German, said he had spoken to team owner Lawrence Stroll and recommended the son of seven-time champion Michael Schumacher.
\n\u201cObviously, I spoke to Lawrence and told him that I\u2019m not going to continue,\u201d said 35-year-old Vettel.
\n\u201cWe had a very, very brief chat about what might be next.
\n\u201cI do have my opinion. I think very highly of Mick. I\u2019m not entirely objective because I\u2019m very close to him, but I do think he\u2019s a great driver and he is a learner.
\n\u201cHe keeps learning when others stall or stop making progress. He does have qualities, but he\u2019s also very young still. He doesn\u2019t have a lot of experience.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not my decision, but if I\u2019m asked I will give my opinion and not hold back. In the end, the team will have to make that decision.\u201d
\nSchumacher, who is out of contract with Haas at the end of this year, scored his first points finish in Formula One at the British Grand Prix earlier this month and followed it with another strong finish in Austria.
\nAs a Ferrari academy graduate, the Italian team will also have some influence on the next step in his career.
\n\u201cObviously, there is still lots to do here (at Haas) so that is where my focus lies at the moment and what the future brings, we will see,\u201d said Schumacher.
\n\u201cNever say never, but obviously, my focus is Budapest right now.\u201d
\nSchumacher has known Lawrence Stroll and his son Lance, who races for Aston Martin, since his karting days and said they have a strong relationship.
\n\u201cI have known them a long time,\u201d he said of the Stroll family. \u201cAnd we have always been good with each other.\u201d
\nIn Friday\u2019s practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Schumacher was 17th behind his Haas team-mate Kevin Magnussen while Vettel was seventh and Stroll 14th in the updated Aston Martin featuring a new rear-wing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Formula One great says he has recommended young driver to team\u2019s owner HUNGARORING Sebastian Vettel on Friday tipped his friend and protege Mick Schumacher to be his successor at Aston Martin next season. The retirement-bound four-time world champion, who is close friends with his 23-year-old fellow-German, said he had spoken to team owner Lawrence Stroll […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":274695,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-274668","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n