Carlos Sainz Jr. says he can sympathise with Mick Schumacher over ꦰthe heightened media attention and expectations through having a famous racing father, but believes the Ferrari youngster is “in a good place right now.”

The son of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Sc🍎humacher, Mick 🌳enjoyed his maiden F1 test earlier this month with Ferrari in Bahrain. The German driver is racing in Formula 2 this season, and is part of Ferrari’s young driver academy.

Schumacher faced significant 🎀media interest over the Bahrain weekend, with McLaren F1 driver Sainz – himself the son of a two-time world rally champion – sympathising with the pressure that comes with having a notable surname in motorsport.

“Especially when I was a kid, when I was go-karting, I felt that a lot of people were looking at me and 💎at my results and the way I was going. A lot of kids and racing drivers were focusing a bit on me because being the son of [Sainz],” he explained.

“But it’s something that I got used to, although at the time it was tough. Th✅en I just tried to take the positives from it and having a double world champion as a father I think it only made me a better driver today.

“I think [Mick] is getting a lot of attention these last few weeks because ♒of the F1 test and that’s why I feel for him.

“But sometimes media attention is also not bad. I thi🐼nk he’s in a good pla💙ce right now.”

Sainz expanded on the attention he faced in karting, explaining how he decided to change his on-track approach after ♔feeling he had a targ📖et on his back because of his family.

“Kids are sometimes a bit mean and y𒐪ou want to beat that guy, ‘I want to beat the son of Carlos Sainz more than any other maybe♔ because his father is watching or because more people are watching,’” he said.

“So when I was a kid that was definitely𒅌 a thing I didn’t like. My dad told me ‘you either bite or you get beaten’. When he told me that, I realised I had to star⛎t biting a bit more, or I will get beaten too often.

“Suddenly I started being a bit more aggressiv𒈔e and started earning a bit more respect. I didn’t realise but I was being a bit too nice, too friendly with everyone in wanting to get everyone’s approval and then I started being a bit more aggressive and it was better, definitely."