Jos Verstappen was hard on son: 'Haven't spoken to him for a week'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Max Verstappen owes his world title partly to his father. Jos Verstappen, who raced in Formula 1 between 1994 and 2003, invested a lot of time in his development. In conversation with ServusTV he talks about these years.
The one-time world champion had a lot of talent at a young age, which led his father to decide to work with him. In karting, however, the Red Bull Racing driver didn't always show what he was capable of. As a result, father and son clashed on several occasions.
Verstappen had a disappointing world championship in 2012. After the races, Jos Verstappen decided to have a discussion with his son, after which he put him out of the car at a gas station. "I haven't spoken to him for a week," he let us know. "I wanted to make him feel that this is not good. It did help because in 2013 he won every race. I think that still helps him now."
The rapid development of Verstappen
It then didn't take long for the Dutchman to make his debut in Formula 1 like his father. He took his first seat in a Formula 1 car in 2014, before driving for Toro Rosso in 2015. A year later, he celebrated his first victory with Red Bull Racing.