APRIL 25, 2016

Mick Schu's F1 road harder than Verstappen's

Mick Schumacher may not experience as smooth a journey towards formula one as did F1 teen sensation Max Verstappen.

That is the view of Max's father Jos, who was the F1 legend Michael Schumacher's teammate at Benetton back in the mid-90s.

Verstappen's 18-year-old son, however, made it to formula one before Mick, who is a year younger than the young German who now races in Formula 4.

Jos told Auto Bild that he is sure Max is a better driver than him.

"I am 100 per cent convinced that Max is better than me," he said. "He has everything under control.

"He was better prepared than I was," Verstappen snr added.

"I came into formula one and I didn't know anything -- I had to find out everything for myself."

Now, the world's media is predicting a similar rise at some time in the future for Mick.

The big difference, however, is that Mick's famous father Michael is still recovering from his 2013 skiing crash.

"Mick misses his father of course, as he has a lot of experience. Now Peter Kaiser is supporting him," said Jos.

"I think Mick is someone who needs more time to achieve good results. I have watched him a little and I think he can drive. But he must be given the time he needs.

"Having the name Schumacher is different to being a Verstappen. I don't think he's as good as Michael, and then it is more difficult still," Jos added.

(GMM)