Mick Schumacher's famous name may have helped him to accelerate through motor racing's lower levels, but it will also add pressure when he makes his Formula 1 debut in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday.
The 22-year-old son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher will drive for US team Haas. He earned his chance by winning the Formula 3 European championship in 2018 and the Formula 3 title last year.
His famous name has helped make it easier for Haas to find funding, but the young Schumacher's longer-term career plan seems clear.
Schumacher is part of the academy at Ferrari, where his father won five of his seven world titles.
Haas and Ferrari each pay half of Schumacher's salary and, if he proves himself, he seems destined to eventually race in the famous red of the Maranello-based company.
"The name Schumacher is a brand, but it is a brand linked to the first name Michael," Herve Bodinier, a sports marketing professional and F1 expert, said. "Ferrari and the others are not patrons, Mick will have to write his own story."
Michael Schumacher, 52, has not been seen in public since a skiing accident in the French Alps in 2013. Now, 15 years after his father last raced for Ferrari, Mick will bring the famous name back to F1.
The hype has been building for weeks.
"His arrival is already a boost for Formula 1, his name is attracting a lot of attention, and the whole series is benefiting from it," admitted Stefano Domenicali, the F1 boss who is close to the Schumacher family.
"He deserved this promotion. He has reached the level of a Formula 1 driver by his own strength, not because of his name.
"Now we have to give him time to grow, to learn... and to follow a normal progression curve."
