Michael Schumacher's son set to make F1 debut

Despite being a mainstay at race weekends thanks to his F2 seat with Prema Racing Team, Mick Schumacher will be having an extra special race weekend at the Nurburgring. Ferrari has just announced that he will be making his official F1 debut behind the wheel of an Alfa Romeo albeit only during free practice at the Eifel Grand Prix.

Mick certainly needs no introduction to the F1 community being the son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher. As a long-time member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, Mick has worked his way through the ranks to earn an appearance at the big leagues. The news about his free practice debut comes just after a successful weekend at Sochi. He is currently leading the F2 championship standings with just two rounds to go.

Still only 21 years old, Mick is waiting for his chance to enter the main stage. Things are looking promising for the youngster as he gets a chance to show off what he's got behind the wheel of Antonio Giovinazzi's car.

"I am overjoyed to get this chance in free practice. The fact that my first participation in a Formula 1 weekend will take place in front of my home audience at the Nurburgring makes this moment even more special," said Mick, as quoted by the official F1 website.

Mick has also featured behind the wheel of his father's F2004 earlier this month, when Ferrari celebrated their 1000th Grand Prix at Mugello. This time, he will be taking the wheel of the Alfa Romeo C39. It's a stark contrast from the championship-winning F2004. The Alfa is currently sitting at 8th place in the championship standings, ahead only of the Ferrari-powered Haas and the troubled Williams.

Other FDA drivers like Callum Ilott and Robert Schwartzman will also be making their F1 debuts this season. Ilott will be driving a Haas during practice at the Nurburgring while Schwartzman will make his debut later in the year at Abu Dhabi.

The Eifel Grand Prix weekend will take place on Oct 9-11.