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Jos Verstappen banned Max from overtaking in some places earlier
- Savannah Lenz
In an interview with Speedweek, Jos Verstappen mentioned one specific aspect of racing that he felt was particularly important while training his son, Max Verstappen. The four-time world champion's father explained how he helped his son in one particular area; overtaking. He thinks that his help and training may be why Max is able to complete risky overtakes and pull them off.
Jos Verstappen said, "Overtaking was an important topic for me when I trained Max because, in my opinion, you can overtake in the wrong way. If he lost time during an overtaking manoeuvre, I tried to explain to him how to do it better. If you lose time on the track, you didn't do it right. Max has made that his own."
Jos forbade Max from overtaking in some places
Jos used to set specific parameters of where Max could overtake. He did not want Max taking the easy way out so he would point out where Max could and couldn't overtake.
"That is one of the reasons why later in Formula 1 we got the impression that Max could overtake anywhere. An overtaking manoeuvre is not a product of chance. A driver has to keep a close eye on his opponent, discover his weaknesses and really get a grip on his rival. Max practised this for years in the karts; it has become second nature to him," Jos concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Esteban den Toom.
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