Mick Schumacher ready for F3 move – Prema

Schumacher, son of seven-time F1 champion Michael, is widely tipped to be joining Prema's all-conquering European F3 outfit next year, but no official announcement regarding his future plans has yet been made.

The 17-year-old German was part of Prema's F4 team in 2016, finishing runner-up in both the German and the Italian championship in what was his second year in single-seaters.

“I think he did a very good job,” Rosin told Motorsport.com. “Doing a double championship was quite heavy on his mental side, he did some mistakes, but the Formula 4 season has been taken as a learning step for him.

“I think compared to the result of last year [where he was 10th in German F4], he improved really a lot. His race pace is amazing, he just needs to improve a bit more in the qualifying. I think he will be a very good driver in the future.

“This year for him was quite difficult, because he has to manage quite a lot of press around him - but we've been able to manage [it] together with him and all his crew in a very good way, without letting it disturb him a lot.”

Asked whether Schumacher was ready for F3, Rosin said: “I think he's ready for Formula 3. Of course, that's not my decision, what he will do next year.

“We're just waiting - he's done some tests with us, now the decision will come in the coming weeks.”

Prema has already signed former Red Bull junior Callum Ilott to spearhead its European F3 title challenge in 2017 – and Rosin expects to be able to announce the full line-up before Christmas.

As well as Schumacher, Ferrari junior Guan Yu Zhou has been linked with a Prema move, while Honda protege Tadasuke Makino is also set to join the Italian team.