'Fighter' Ferrari F1 junior Mick Schumacher will be 'strong' in F2

Schumacher - son of seven-time F1 champion Michael - enters his fourth season as a Prema driver, winning the European Formula 3 title with the squad last year.

He finished 12th in the same series the year before and was runner up in Italian and German Formula 4 respectively during his debut with the team in 2016.

"It is difficult to predict the outcome of the season before even starting," Rosin told Autosport.

"It is Mick's first year in the category so we are looking at things race by race.

"He is a fighter and he really enjoys racing so we definitely expect him to be strong, but for the time being the main goal is to keep improving and hopefully we can achieve some nice results."

Schumacher - who will drive both Ferrari and Alfa Romeo's current F1 machinery in Bahrain - topped one day of pre-season testing in Jerez but a week later at the three-day Barcelona test, he appeared to struggle.

Speaking last week, he said that the pressure of being compared to his father does not bother him and that mastering the Pirelli tyre would likely be key to any anticipated success in the F2 championship.

The Pirellis are difficult to get into the ideal operating window, as well as tricky to maintain, and the series's cars are not allowed tyre sensors on race weekends - so the drivers must prepare the tyre purely on feel.

"On the last day in Barcelona Mick struggled a bit, we didn't achieve what we wanted on the two sets of tyres," added Rosin.

"He is still a rookie and needs to learn how the tyres work.

"Coming from Formula 3 where you use the Hankooks, for sure the most important thing about F2 is to learn how to treat the Pirellis.

"It's quite fundamental.

"He's doing a good job so far and I don't see that will be an issue."

Rosin has helped the likes of Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Antonio Giovinazzi and Lance Stroll to reach F1 through competing with his team, so he is familiar with the pressure that is placed on drivers affiliated with F1 teams.

In total, six of the current 20 drivers in F1 have driven or tested for the team.

"There is a lot of expectation [on Mick], even before he signed with Ferrari," added Rosin.

"But for us, it is important that he works in the way he has always done and we will give him all of our best to make sure that he will perform."