Apart from being the father of Red Bull star Max Verstappen, Jos Verstappen also has the identity of being a racing driver himself. Interestingly, he has also been a teammate of Michael Schumacher. Despite this, Verstappen Sr. recently admitted that he lacks said experience, that too in terms of racing, as per Dutch Formule1.
The Dutchman raced in F1 – on and off – from 1994 to 2003. During these years, he gained a lot of experience in the sport, including getting two podium finishes. From all the experiences he amassed, he helped his son prepare for the most elite form of motorsport for years.
As Verstappen is already excelling in F1, his father doesn’t need to be beside him in all the races he takes part in today. This gives Verstappen Sr. ample time to focus on other racing categories such as the Belgian Rally Championship, which he won recently.
Verstappen Sr on his lack of experience in rally
Verstappen Sr. who has 107 entries in F1, has recently spoken about how rally racing needs to have a whole different discipline and can’t be mastered overnight. It was quite tough for the veteran Dutchman. An experienced driver like him had to start learning the sport from scratch.
Speaking of how rally uses new tracks every year and how tough it is to master them, he said as per Dutch Formule1, “Earlier this year I drove a rally where I had already driven a year earlier. That immediately made it a lot easier. You will then recognize parts from last time. Experience, that is something I am really lacking.”
Adding to these, Jos Verstappen also mentioned how tricky the surfaces can be, unlike F1 tracks. The rally cars use slick tires on gravel tracks, which gets tough to master. Nevertheless, he is still in the learning phase, he asserted.
How did Jos Verstappen shape his championship winning son?
Jos Verstappen is known for his ruthless nature, both during his own racing days and for preparing his son for his F1 journey. The 51-year-old resorted to very harsh means, which are often criticized, to shape Verstappen into the driver he is today.
When it comes to his racing team, he races for Verstappen.com racing. The team gets important support from Red Bull and works together with Wevers Sport for the maintenance of their car.
Nevertheless, Jos Verstappen labels his new racing category as a hobby and nothing else. On this, he said that he finds it enjoyable and this does not cause frustration for him.
