Ten years after Schumacher skiing accident: 'Verstappen with same mentality'

Michael Schumacher is considered by many to be the best driver of all time. Almost a decade after his skiing accident, his influence is still very much visible in the sport. According to Johnny Herbert, the 'Schumacher mentality' can still be seen in one driver in particular.

Michael Schumacher has achieved a lot in his Formula 1 career. With no fewer than 91 wins and seven world titles, he is one of the best drivers ever. His skiing accident in December 2013 therefore came as a big shock to many.

Johnny Herbert knows Schumacher from his Formula 1 days and tries to explain Schumacher's impact on the sport at Grosvenor Sport. "There has been a huge void left since Schumacher’s crash. When the accident happened it was a big shock for everybody. He had been such a fixture around the paddock for so long, achieving all those wins and championships. He was massively respected by the flock of current drivers at the time, but actually probably by nearly all the drivers today. If you ask them who was the driver they looked up to and watched when you were growing up, they would say Michael. Michael was the one who drove them to achieve their dream of getting into Formula 1."

Does Max Verstappen have the 'Schumacher mentality'?

According to Herbert, there are a lot of drivers in this day and age who still use Michael's ways they have seen on television on the track. A concrete example of this is Max Verstappen. According to him, this is because Jos Verstappen and Michael Schumacher were teammates in 1994 and Jos then passed on Michael's ways to Max. "I think even Jos has tried to instill a lot of what Michael was about as a driver and as a person and in the way he contributes to his team and how he worked within a team structure to get the best for himself. He is the only one who has used a lot of Michael’s ways in his own life."