‘Unique’ Max Verstappen told he’s shown ‘the same’ ability as Michael Schumacher

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Max Verstappen has the chance to match Michael Schumacher as the only driver ever to win five F1 titles in a row should the Red Bull star retain the championship in 2025.

The Dutchman has dominated F1 in recent seasons, and he has moved up many categories in the record books as a result. Verstappen has won 58 out of the 111 Grands Prix held so far since the start of 2021, as well as 82 podiums and 44 pole positions, to earn 2,202.5 points.

Verstappen has scored 341 points, as well as five wins, 12 podiums and seven poles, thus far in the 2025 F1 season, to sit third in the drivers’ standings. He trails McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri by 49 and 25 points, with only three rounds of the 2025 season remaining.

Red Bull now need a lot to work in Verstappen’s favour for him to retain the drivers’ title for a fifth year in a row. Only Schumacher from 2000 to 2004 whilst at Ferrari has ever won the F1 drivers’ championship in five straight seasons, as he added to his two titles with Benetton.

Max Verstappen mimics Michael Schumacher’s ability to make ‘everyone’ in his team listen

Schumacher beat Damon Hill to win the 1994 F1 title, and he retained the championship for Benetton in the 1995 season before moving to Ferrari in 1996. The German joined Benetton midway through the 1991 campaign, as he left Jordan straight after his F1 debut in Belgium.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Michael Schumacher, from F1 career to net worth

Alessandro Benetton, the Benetton F1 team chairman and son of founder Luciano Benetton, can now see a similarity between how Schumacher became the heart of the outfit and what Verstappen does at Red Bull. Also, Verstappen’s approach to the media makes him “unique”.

Benetton told Gazzetta dello Sport: “Looking at Max, I see the same ability Schumacher had to make everyone listen. I have a romantic memory of him due to the fact that his father, Jos, raced for us.

“In a world of communication, where you have to please others at all costs, he doesn’t try. But I think he’s perfectly aware that this way of presenting himself, without necessarily having to be likeable, is also a marketing factor. It makes him unique.”

Max Verstappen is the modern Michael Schumacher as Red Bull are a one-man band

Alessandro Benetton worked with Schumacher throughout his time at Benetton, which also saw the German score 19 wins and 38 podiums from his 68 Grands Prix with the team. The Italian businessman served as the chairman of the Benetton F1 team from 1988 until 1998.

Schumacher left Benetton and went on to likewise build Ferrari around him to vast success, after rebuilding the Scuderia with Jean Todt, Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne. Brawn and Byrne followed Schumacher to Ferrari after also playing instrumental roles in Benetton’s success.

Now, Formula 1 is seeing Red Bull build around Verstappen and have the Dutchman at the very heart of their efforts. The Milton Keynes outfit have been a one-man band since 2019 after Daniel Ricciardo left, with Verstappen’s teammates hired to help the 28-year-old win.