Max Verstappen shares one key driving trait with Michael Schumacher that has ‘misled’ Red Bull’s development

Red Bull Racing find themselves trying to make up the gap to McLaren as quickly as possible to keep Max Verstappen’s championship hopes alive.

Max Verstappen sits 32 points behind Oscar Piastri, and the Australian is currently on a run of three straight victories.

Listening to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and chief advisor Helmut Marko, what Verstappen is currently achieving should be virtually impossible.

McLaren have developed a phenomenal car, and it could still match the dominance Red Bull’s 2023 machine enjoyed if they win every race between now and the end of the season.

The aim for Red Bull is to find a way to improve the RB21 to help Verstappen consistently challenge his McLaren rivals.

However, Mark Hughes has suggested that the Dutchman shares a particular driving trait with the legendary Michael Schumacher which might actually be hindering Red Bull behind the scenes.

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How Max Verstappen might have misled Red Bull in their F1 car development

Hughes was talking on the Driving Style Secrets podcast about Verstappen’s unique approach to Formula 1 and explained, “If the car starts to over-rotate, he can feel it so early and because of that lovely feel just as it’s starting to rotate too much, he’ll change how much braking or steering he’s doing.

“That’s how he can just have the rear of the car dancing around him and still keep momentum.

“We saw in qualifying, turn one in Miami, he had that moment, a quick oversteer snap because the tyres weren’t quite ready, but he maintains the momentum.

“He doesn’t just [think], that’s the lap ruined, he just does the corner in a different way.

“Michael Schumacher used to do the same thing, it’s very similar in that regard.

“But, he’s actually so good at that, that it sometimes misleads the team, and at least twice Red Bull have headed too far in that direction with their car development until even he’s found it too much.

“But, it’s been at a point half a season later than the other driver, Alex Albon or Sergio Perez, of pointing the problem out.”

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Red Bull worried they will never be able to fix one F1 car trait that Max Verstappen hates

Multiple drivers over the years have struggled alongside Verstappen at Red Bull, with Yuki Tsunoda the latest racer to be tasked with trying to match the four-time world champion.

Liam Lawson’s struggles at Red Bull were well-documented, and the fact he only lasted two race weekends highlights why it’s considered the hardest role in Formula 1.

Pierre Gasly has gone on to be a Formula 1 race winner while driving for Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri but failed to see out a full season alongside Verstappen.

Alex Albon went to extreme lengths to adjust to Red Bull’s cars, but to no avail, and he’s had to rebuild his career at Williams.

It makes perfect sense for Red Bull to have preferred Verstappen over his teammate in all of these scenarios.

He was always going to be the driver that would deliver championships in the right car, but his talent has accidentally set the team back in some cases.

Verstappen is spending longer at Red Bull’s factory than ever before to help decipher what’s wrong with the RB21.

The team have already taken a step forward in 2025, but it might be too late to give him a chance to defeat the McLaren pair.