Here's why Michael Schumacher achieving so much success in his F1 career was 'completely normal' for AlphaTauri team principal

Michael Schumacher's success in F1 did not come as a surprise to AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost. Speaking to F1Insider, Tost revealed that the first time he saw Michael Schumacher was during his Formula Ford stint, and even then he realized that the German was going to be something special. Tost said,

"I first really noticed him at a Formula Ford race in the rain at the Salzburgring. He lapped the entire field. At the time, I was standing by the track with Willi Weber to watch him. It was about whether we should sign him for Willis F3 team for next year. I said to Willi: You don't have to worry about Michael. He's worlds faster than everyone else."

Tost talked about how professional Michael Schumacher was in his approach, and that was what made him stand out as compared to the rest of the grid. He continued,

"The second time I saw him was at a Formula Ford EM round in Zolder. Then he ran into Mika Salo's rears. That was also a great performance by Michael. We met and talked several times after that. He was 100% professional and incredibly goal-oriented. That's why it was completely normal for me that he was later able to achieve these successes. You could foresee that in every respect right from the start.”

Speaking about current champion Max Verstappen, Tost is quoted saying:

"I first met Max with his father at the Nürburgring. At that time he was still karting. The next time was at the Norisring in Formula 3. In the rain he drove in a league of his own, as if he was the only one who had discovered a dry line"

Max Verstappen reminded Tost of Michael Schumacher

Franz Tost revealed that at first glance of Max Verstappen, he could draw similarities with Michael Schumacher. Verstappen's ability to find grip on a wet track was similar to what Michael Schumacher had, and that was why the team was willing to give the Dutch driver a place in F1.

"He immediately reminded me of Michael Schumacher. You could see what mega talent Max was. We had to take criticism when we entrusted the Toro Rosso to him at the age of 17. So someone who didn't even have a driver's license. He also completed his first training session in Suzuka, one of the most difficult tracks of all. But Max handled everything confidently."

Tost revealed that despite the jump in speed from F3 to F1, Verstappen was able to adjust quickly and adapt to the car seemlessly.

"He never had any problems with the high speed of a Formula 1 car and always had everything under control from the start. In his first races he was sometimes a little too aggressive. This sometimes led to a crash, for example in Monaco with Romain Grosjean. Today he rides at an extremely high level. Still, we haven't seen the maximum from him yet. Only Charles Leclerc can come close to keeping up."

Since then, Verstappen has won his first title, and with the way the 2022 F1 season is going, he looks set to win the second title as well.