Max Verstappen's 'horrible reputation' a trait he picked up from Michael Schumacher, claims Johnny Herbert

Max Verstappen's horrible reputation of just driving others off the track is a trait he might have picked up from Michael Schumacher. That's the view of Johnny Herbert, as it was recently revealed by Jos Verstappen that the Verstappens and Schumachers would spend their holidays together when Max and Mick (Michael's son) were younger.

Max Verstappen has developed a reputation of being a ruthless operator when it comes to wheel-to-wheel battles. The Dutch driver does not take any prisoners when it comes to a battle with any rival on the track and often flirts with the line of what's fair and what isn't.

This was on evidence in the 2024 F1 season as well, where Max Verstappen was trying to defend his championship lead from McLaren's Lando Norris. The Dutch driver's uncompromising nature in those battles was quite evident, and it did lead to him picking up a couple of penalties as well.

Talking about the Red Bull driver, Herbert feels that the fact that Max Verstappen has got this horrible reputation of driving others cars off the track is a result of what he picked up from Michael Schumacher. He told Casinoutanspelpaus.io,

“I think the type of comments that Michael Schumacher may have spoken to Max Verstappen about would stick with you. But I know Jos Verstappen would still be making sure that he doesn’t forget them at the same time. I think he’s used so much on how Michael worked within a team to make the maximum step in the group that we’ve got today, the strength that he’s got and has had since a very, very young age from when he first got into Formula 1."

He added,

“And I always remember when he did his first season in Formula 1, he got this horrible reputation of driving people off the circuit, being a hard racer. And he was like, ‘well, hard racing is what it’s all about. You don’t put people in the wall, you push them onto the grass’.”

Jos Verstappen on Max Verstappen benefitting from the advice Michael Schumacher gave

Talking to F1 insider recently, Jos Verstappen had revealed that the Verstappen and Schumacher families would spend the holidays together. He also pointed out how Michael Schumacher would make it a point to give advice to both Max Verstappen and his son Mick.

Talking about how Max has a lot in common with Michael, Jos said,

“We often went karting with our children Mick and Max. Michael didn’t differentiate between Max and Mick. If he had something to say, he told them both. It’s quite possible that Max also benefited from these experiences. Max has a lot in common with Michael: uncompromising on the racetrack, but kind, sensitive and caring as a private person.”

The 2025 F1 season would see Max go after the record of winning 5 consecutive titles, a feat that has been only achieved by Michael Schumacher until now in F1.