RTL reporter Kai Ebel has been part of the inventory on Formula 1 routes for three decades now. The 57-year-old always had a special connection to the German pilots – starting with Michael Schumacher in the 90s to his son Mick, who is currently driving for Haas. In an interview, Ebel has now drawn a comparison between father and son.
In 1992, Kai Ebel was on a Formula 1 track for RTL for the first time, and 30 years later the living reporter legend is still there. The premier class of racing is hardly imaginable without the native of Gladbach, at least from a German fan point of view.
Ebel has seen many German pilots come and go: First and foremost, of course, Michael and Ralf Schumacher, but also Nico Rosberg, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Nick Heidfeld and Sebastian Vettel, to name just a few.
Ebel: Team duel for Mick more important than championship points
At the moment the greatest hopes in Germany rest on Mick Schumacher, who, after a first year of training at Haas, wants to collect his first World Cup points in his second season. Ebel is still cautious with the 23-year-old.
“Of course you can always have hope, but I don’t see that he’s going to get on the podium on his own,” said the reporter in an interview with the portal.Watson“.
First of all, another challenge would be in the foreground for Mick anyway: “With Kevin Magnussen he now has a yardstick as a teammate. It’s a well-known quantity and everyone knows what Magnussen can do. If he has it under control, it would be the next step. “
In the first race of the season in Bahrain, however, Schumacher ended up far behind the Dane, who surprisingly finished fifth.
Why Michael Schumacher’s career began “with a big lie”.
Ebel finds comparisons between Mick Schumacher and his legendary father Michael premature at the moment. There is a “big difference” between the two, according to the 57-year-old.
“Michael’s career began with a big lie. His manager at the time, Willi Weber, said that Michael knew the track in Spa by heart. But he had never driven there before and was still brutally fast and then switched straight to the next team, Benetton.” Ebel remembered.
Schumacher senior was “a very fast driver at the highest level right from the start”. His son, on the other hand, has “a learning curve that is not quite as steep,” emphasized the interview expert. Mick just needs “more time”.
However, Ebel Mick Schumacher easily believes that a development comparable to that of another German driver is possible. “For me, he’s similar to Sebastian Vettel. Sebastian was also told in the paddock that he was too slow and in the end he became world champion four times,” he recalled the difficult beginnings of the later world champion.