There is a room in Maranello, Ferrari's hallowed headquarters, which used to accommodate Michael Schumacher during his 10 years at the illustrious Italian team. Since joining himself, Sebastian Vettel, Schumacher's disciple, has already stayed overnight several times. It may even have been in the very room where his hero slept. "It did not say Michael's room on the door," Vettel says with a smile.
Even if the seven-time champion's name is no longer emblazoned on the entrance, Schumacher is ever-present in Vettel's thoughts. Along with the allure, the passion and the history of Ferrari - the 27-year-old is a great student of Formula One - Schumacher's achievements are the main explanation for why Vettel chose to leave Red Bull for the then unfancied scarlet car.
He is there to emulate his great idol. It is a challenge many assert he is incapable of rising to, despite his stunning drive to victory at the last race in Malaysia. His unflattering season alongside Daniel Ricciardo in 2014 did not help. But since he was dubbed "baby Schumi" on winning his first race at Monza, seven years ago, the comparisons have been inevitable. Maurizio Arrivabene, Ferrari's team principal, who was around in Schumacher's time, confesses that he often sees his driver as a "carbon copy of Schumi".
Vettel speaks eloquently, and at times movingly, given Schumacher's condition after his skiing accident, of peering over the fence at Ferrari's Fiorano test track as boy, desperate to catch a glimpse.
"Some 15 or 20 years ago, I was standing in front of the gates of Maranello, and I wasn't allowed in," the German tells me in the Shanghai paddock; the first interview he has given to the British press since signing for Ferrari. "I was just like any other fan, trying to see Michael. Now the gates opened and I was the one driving around the track. It was something quite special."
These emotional reminisces make it all the more tragic that, when crunch time came over switching teams, Vettel was unable to ask the man he admired most for advice. The "hardest decision of my life," as he puts it, was made harder by Schumacher's incapacity. He had sought the elder statesmen's counsel often over the years. Since meeting Schumacher when he was seven after winning a karting competition near his home town of Heppenheim - the picture from 1994, the year of Schumacher's first championship, was beamed round the world moments after his Sepang triumph - the two had been in dialogue as Vettel rose through to Formula One.
"Because the decision was so difficult, I would have loved to have spoken to Michael," Vettel says. "I had spoken to him many times about it before. Sometimes it was joking, sometimes it was serious.
"I think I missed that part a lot simply because I knew he would tell me the truth of what he thinks. The honesty he had in giving me advice over the years is probably the most special bit about it. Most people expect him to tell me, for example, 'For turn 13 in Shanghai, try and stay on the inside', or something like this. But this is nonsense. Every driver has his own style and you have to figure that sort of thing out for yourself. He was always very helpful and honest about all the rest in F1; the business side, his experience, the lessons he learnt. That's obviously the part I was missing."
It was no surprise, therefore, that the message of congratulations from Sabine Kehm, Schumacher's manager, meant more than any other. A guarded individual - he eschews Twitter, and fiercely protects the privacy of his partner, Hanna Prater, and their baby daughter, Emilie - Vettel did not explicitly refer to Kehm's message, but elaborated on its significance.
"I imagine everybody likes to do well and receive compliments. Some maybe care more than others [the implication is that he perhaps does less], but then you have the people that are close to you, your family and friends. You can imagine when you're a child in school, and you had a test and got your results, and they were good for you, you come home and celebrate. Whereas when it was the opposite, I sometimes never mentioned I got the results. So of course, it's very special to receive compliments from people that are very close to you."
The story of his journey from four titles with Red Bull to Ferrari is a long one. Sources suggest a formal 'pre-contract' was not in place but the relationship was built on solid foundations. In 2008, Ferrari made their first approach. They made another in 2010, before Vettel secretly visited Maranello after the 2012 season. Last year negotiations stepped up. Marco Mattiacci, then team principal, went to Vettel's home in Switzerland several times. Finally a call from Kehm, and Sergio Marchionne, Ferrari's new president, sealed the deal.
It stunned F1 when it emerged last October and the partnership has already produced a win. Yet it has not been the smoothest transition. First, Christian Horner, his old team principal - who spilt the beans on Vettel's departure weeks before Ferrari were ready to announce - said the German's poor season had prompted him to consider quitting the sport. Vettel's response is terse. "I don't know who he was talking to but not to me. There was a time where I had some questions and I had answered them. The whole thing got a bit misunderstood and hyped."
Then Bernie Ecclestone stuck the boot in for failing to promote the sport. Lewis Hamilton is the better champion, F1's ringmaster said. Vettel was strident. "He's free to say what he wants so it's fine. I'm very happy with what I have achieved so far and looking forward to what might be coming and that's it."
Public enemy number one through his dominant years, Vettel is starting to win people round and rediscovering his enthusiasm. A year ago, in the midst of his annus horribilis, Vettel told me there was nothing to love about the new F1. "The picture of last year is bad, probably worse than it should be, but that's how it is sometimes in life. This year is a completely new story."
It is a story which has taken him to his 40th career win, just one shy of Ayrton Senna. But it is imitating Schumacher, who looked up to Senna, which really counts. If Vettel can prise the title from Mercedes - a huge task, as the Silver cars' pace in practice yesterday (Friday) highlighted - he will be on the right path. "You have to remember where we came from, and that there is a lot of work to do," he says. "But if there is a chance for whatever reason to go for the championship, you have to take it."