'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUH/8QAFAEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABP/aAAwDAQACEAMQAAAAzKwLJ//EAB8QAAICAgEFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQAERIFFiIxQf/aAAgBAQABPwDuidKtYSdLr8nhMpCSfPLW9j3pDiVa0iK7hA7DkQsQ0Dn/xAAWEQADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA2H/2gAIAQIBAT8AVT//xAAWEQADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQP/2gAIAQMBAT8Auz//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Mick Schumacher claimed his first podium in the 2024 World Endurance Championship, securing third place at the 6 Hours of Fuji. Celebrating the moment, Schumacher shared a heartfelt post on social media, praising his team.
The German driver, competing in his inaugural Endurance season with Alpine, partnered with Nicholas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere. This podium marked Schumacher’s first in any racing series in four years.
The last time the 25-year-old stepped on the podium was back in 2020, during the F2 Russian Grand Prix. As such, the WEC podium is a significant milestone. Here's what Schumacher wrote on X:
"What a weekend. It’s been a while since I’ve stood on the podium. Good thing it felt like I never left it. I want to thank my two teammates and the team for their hard work day and night. It’s been probably the race with the most battles I’ve ever had, it really felt like the golden days, back in karting."
Trending
"Finally I would like to say a big thank you, to you guys for supporting me through my up and downs and never failing to send me positive messages. Trust me they don’t go unnoticed! You’re all amazing! Grateful to have you on this journey with me," he added.
Mick, the son of legendary Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher, embarked on his journey in Endurance Racing after being released by Haas at the end of the 2022 season.
Despite showing significant improvement compared to his 2021 performance, Schumacher was unable to secure his seat with Haas, as the team opted to bring in Nico Hulkenberg for the 2023 season.
The German driver then joined Mercedes as a reserve driver under Lewis Hamilton and George Russell and tried his luck at Williams and Alpine. However, after failing to find a seat, he switched to WEC with the French team.
Mick Schumacher claimed the podium with the "worst car" this season
Mick Schumacher and his team finished the 6 Hours of Fuji 42 seconds behind the winning #6 Porsche. However, this was nowhere near his expectations, as the former Haas driver termed the #36 Alpine A424 LMDh as the "worst car" that he's driven this season.
"It was tough this time. I think we started off actually from, in my opinion, the worst car we've ever had this year," Schumacher said. "We were really fighting [the car] a lot and were not confident at all from our side. [The] #35 seem to be a bit better on that."
Currently, Schumacher is ranked 18th in the World Endurance Championship standings alongside his teammates Nicholas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere. The trio has accumulated 18 points after seven rounds of racing.
