Max Verstappen recalls family holidays as a youngster with ‘Uncle Michael’. Max recalls times with ‘Uncle Michael’ as a youngster.

Red Bull Racing driver and 2021 Formula One World Champion Max Verstappen has looked back at the family holidays as a youngster with ‘Uncle Michael’, a.k.a former Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher.

Michael Schumacher and Max’s father Jos Verstappen became were teammates at Benetton and during their Formula 1 time together they became close friends, which resulted in both families enjoying holidays together on several occasions, while Max has been pictured before in his very early years in the Formula 1 paddock with Michael Schumacher.

The 2021 World Champion, recalling the memories of back then, said he was no older than “three or four”, so was not aware that he was enjoying the trips with the multiple-time World Champion Schumacher.

Instead, to him it was simply “Uncle Michael”.

“I was three or four years old at the time. I just knew that was Uncle Michael. Who was very nice. Who was an extremely big family man,” Max Verstappen explained, in a recent interview for  F1-Insider.com – “But I never saw him as a record World Champion, I didn’t know that. You can see that in the old photos and videos we have at home, Mick [Schumacher] was always there or Gina [Michael’s daughter]. It was great. I still have positive memories of those weekends today. We always drove two-seater karts, Michael with Mick or Gina, my father with me.” – he added.

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And while Michael Schumacher and Jos Verstappen did at times hand over the controls, “if it became too dangerous, the fathers took over very quickly,” Max, laughing, assured.

Today, Max Verstappen is racing Mick, the son of the seven times world champion, whi is part of the Ferrari Driver Academy and made his F1 debut for Haas last year.

Since Michael ended his Formula 1 career as a seven-time World Champion, Max Verstappen admitted that this led to Mick Schumacher experiencing far more pressure on during the early stages of his career, unlike the Dutchman’s situation.

“It was different for Mick than it was for me,” Max Verstappen admitted – “His father is the record World Champion, with seven World Championships. That is a difficult starting position at first.Even in his karting days, there was always press around him. In Formula 4, Formula 3 and Formula 2, the hype became even greater. But he has a good environment, good people who care about him.” – the Red Bull Racing driver concluded.