"He’s a very proud dad": Unearthed snap of Michael Schumacher stuns fans
Max Verstappen has shared never been seen photos of Michael Schumacher with the world.
The back-to-back Formula 1 world champion is currently preparing to secure a third straight crown for Red Bull in 2023.
Before the season begins, F1 fans are being treated to a sneak peek behind the curtain as Netflix’s smash hit Drive to Survive releases its fifth season.
Verstappen is heavily featured throughout episode four of the new season, which was released globally on February 24, focusing primarily on former Haas driver Mick Schumacher.
The episode, titled Like Father, Like Son?, brings to light the struggles the famous young racer endured before he was let go by the Haas team.
However, it's Verstappen who once again steals the show as he shares what it was like to grow up alongside the Schumacher family.
Max’s father, Jos, was teammates with Michael at Benetton, with an old interview filmed in the 2000s showing the pair being asked if they would let their kids become F1 drivers.
“I think this could be the first time we have an argument if our two would be racing,” says the German.
It’s what came next that stole the hearts of many, leaving F1 fans stunned. As Max talks about the relationship between the two families, a clip of Max as a toddler interacting with Michael is played before a never been seen photo flashes on the screen.
“We used to go on holidays when we were little together, the two families, and these kind of memories will stay with me,” explains Max, who is now a 35-time race winner in F1.
“For both of us to be in F1 is amazing and also for Michael, he’s a very proud dad for sure.”
The image shows Michael sitting on a hanging chair with baby Max on one knee and his daughter, Gina-Maria, on the other.
Mick was replaced by F1 journeyman Nico Hulkenberg and will have to sit out 2023 as a reserve driver at Mercedes behind Sir Lewis Hamilton and his teammate George Russell.
Drive to Survive charts Mick’s difficult sophomore season in 2022, including his horror 170mph incident in Saudi Arabia.
Mick’s rough year saw him outscored by his teammate, the returning Danish veteran Kevin Magnussen.
The Netflix series focuses on Mick’s struggles and the pressure that came with racing under the Schumacher name.
“Mick has the lineage of one of the greatest drivers the sport has ever seen,” said F1 journalist Will Buxton.
“But it remains to be seen if he has the same character as his dad.”
Haas boss Steiner said the Schumacher name was a “blessing and a curse” for Mick.
But in characteristically non-nonsense fashion, the famously foul-mouthed team principal says at some point the young German will have “stand up” and be his “own man”.
Mick outlines the struggles surrounding pressure on the show, including the admission “dreams don’t always come true”.
His dad is one of the most renowned F1 drivers of all time, rising to power in the 90s and going on to dominate the sport by the early 2000s.
He raced from 1991 to 2006 and again from 2010 to 2012, a second act of his racing career which became instrumental in setting up the dominant Mercedes team.
The German won five world championships with Ferrari and two for Benetton.
Schumacher retired in 2012, but a year later, he was involved in a life-changing skiing accident while on the slopes with Mick.
He was left in a medically induced coma before being sent home, and no further information has been revealed since the incident.
His family, led by his wife Corinna, protect Michael’s privacy and offer him a quiet life.
There have only been hints and cryptic rumours about Schumacher’s health, with information being drip-fed by friends and anonymous sources.
Image credit: Getty/Netflix