Having been F1 teammates, Michael Schumacher and Jos Verstappen share a deep friendship that has lasted for decades and brought their families close together. As a result, the latter’s son — Max Verstappen spent a significant part of his childhood in Schumacher’s company, as the German driver became a memorable figure in his life.
Recently, a video clip from 2011 surfaced on the Formula 1 subreddit which shows just how close the two families were back in the day. In the video, Schumacher and a young Max Verstappen can be seen racing against each other at a karting track in Genk, Belgium. At the time, Max was just 14 years old, while Schumacher was in his second stint in F1 with Mercedes after a brief retirement.
Max Verstappen has often spoken about the close ties between the two families, particularly their shared love for karting. He once fondly recalled the many times the Verstappen and Schumacher families would go on vacations together, where karting was always a key activity.
These trips were a major part of the three-time champion’s childhood, and he remembers them with great affection. “It was great. I still have positive memories of those weekends today,” Verstappen told f1-insider.com.
For most of his childhood, Max didn’t see Schumacher as a racing legend, but rather as someone who was an integral part of his family’s life and used to refer to him as “Uncle Michael”. As for Jos and Michael, they didn’t necessarily want their children to compete in F1.
What Michael Schumacher and Jos Verstappen feared came to pass
Despite the strong bond between the two families, both Schumacher and Verstappen were concerned about the possibility that their children might one day compete against each other in F1.
In fact, nearly two decades ago, during an interview, Schumacher jokingly admitted that such a situation could be the first real test of their friendship. “We have never had any sort of argument in our friendship. I think this could be the first we’re going to have some argument if our two would be racing each other,” Schumacher said.
2002’de Michael Schumacher ve Jos Verstappen’e çocuklarınız ileride F1’de birbirlerine karşı yarışsalar ne olurdu diye sorulunca ikisi de daha az tehlikeli sporlar önerse de olursa kapışırız demişler…
2021… ikisinin de oğlu F1’de… pic.twitter.com/Wm6JgqcZkM
— F1 Caps (@F1caps) December 3, 2020
However, both fathers were keen on supporting their children’s ambitions, no matter what sport they chose to pursue. But their fear eventually turned into a reality when Mick Schumacher joined the grid in 2021, the same year when Max Verstappen claimed his first championship.
