Being the son of two racers, there is no way Max Verstappen would not have become an F1 driver. While his mother, Sophie Kumpen, was a renowned karting racer who fought on the track against the likes of Jenson Button, Giancarlo Fisichella, and Jarno Trulli, his father, Jos, was an F1 driver, who drove with the great Michael Schumacher as a teammate. That was when the relationship between the two families flourished. Max and Michael’s son Mick were just toddlers back then. The Dutchman recently looked back on the two families’ ties as Netflix released unseen photos of him with Schumi Sr.

The 2022 season was a particularly special one for Max. Despite winning his maiden crown a year before, the second one stamped his authority on the sport. Breaking many records while creating some along the way, ‘Super Max’ often drew comparisons with the German great. Now that he reveals how much time he spent with Michael back in the day, the influence does not seem too out of the blue anymore.

In episode 3 of season 5 of DTS, which focuses on Mick, Max said, “We used to go on holidays when we were little together, the two families, and these kind of memories will stay with me.”

“For both of us (him and Mick) to be in F1 is amazing and also for Michael, he’s a very proud dad for sure,” he added.

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Michael and Jos were teammates when they both drove for Benetton. During that time, the two became great friends, often going on holidays with their families together. At one point, the ties became so thick that Max started referring to Michael as his ‘uncle’.

Max Verstappen recalls the history with ‘Uncle’ Michael Schumacher

Michael may have been the greatest driver of his generation, but to a 3-year-old Max, he was just Uncle Michael, who was a really nice fellow. Until then, Michael’s 7x championship-winning journey had just started.

In an interview with Insider.com, Max revealed, “It was great. I still have positive memories of those weekends today.”

“I was three or four years old at the time. I just knew him as Uncle Michael. He was very nice. He very much was a family man,” he added. “But I never saw him as the record world champion, I wasn’t aware of that. You can see that in the old photos and videos that we have at home.”

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Ever since the skiing accident that saw him take heavy injuries, Michael hasn’t been the same. Here’s hoping that he recovers well and gives his invaluable guidance to his son Mick and his nephew Max.