How Max Verstappen's Red Bull driving style is similar to Michael Schumacher's during his Benetton days

F1 pundit Edd Straw recently highlighted the similarities between Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher's driving styles and how they are able to dominate the sport with a certain type of car, which is extremely hard to control for several drivers.

Speaking on The Race F1 podcast, he explained how the Benetton team was built around Michael Schumacher to support his driving style. The legendary German driver preferred a car with a very sensitive front end. Hence, he was able to squeeze extraordinary performances out of it. Straw said:

"Fundamentally, Benetton was built around [Michael] Schumacher, galvanized around Schumacher, because he was so good. And what Schumacher could do is deal with a car which was very pointy and responsive. Johnny Herbert, he said that basically, you coughed and the car turned in, and the phrase he used is that Schumacher could compute that, that sudden movement when you turn in and rotate the car in a way that Herbert could not."

He further explained how Max Verstappen has the same driving style and how Red Bull have built their team and car around him, just like Benetton did with Schumacher. The F1 pundit added:

"And that's the common thing with Schumacher. He had a car which was very much set up to work for that star, which can be quicker but is very, very difficult to do. Max Verstappen is another similar example to this day. So I think you have a team that is built around a driver with a set of car characteristics, fast but tricky, the best driver will always be the one on whom the team focuses on."

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Former Ferrari team boss draws parallels between Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher

Former Ferrari team principal and FIA president Jean Todt recently spoke about the similarities between Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher.

Although Todt does not know Verstappen as closely as Schumacher, he has noticed that the reigning world champion is extremely quick and hardly makes any mistakes, qualities that the legendary German driver possessed as well.

Speaking to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Todt said:

"He's fast and makes few mistakes. He's a fighter like Schumacher. On a human level, I don't know Max well enough to judge him. When Michael was still riding, it seemed like he was a bit conceited, but actually he needed it to hide his modesty. He was very modest. He never made it out to the team, not even at Silverstone in 1999 when he broke both his legs. It's not my intention to compare the two, but that's something where he and Max are equal."

Although Verstappen still has a long way to go before he can match Schumacher's records and legacy, his dominant form in recent years has impressed many.