F1 expert Lewis Webster, a columnist for BusinessF1, has noted that Jos Verstappen has a definitive unlikeable aura about him. On the other hand, despite being his son, Max Verstappen hasn’t followed in his father’s footsteps on this front and has managed to create a good persona, that without any external help.
Jos Verstappen is often criticized and disliked because of his personality. His straightforward nature and harsh behavior are some of the reasons why he is not really liked much by the F1 community. The various stories of how he used to treat Max Verstappen during the latter’s younger childhood haven’t helped his cause either.
Contrary to all of that, Max Verstappen has turned out to be a nice, likable person as can be seen from his huge fan following. What is most surprising about this is that Max developed this persona, without any help from Red Bull.
Max Verstappen and his self-made charisma
In the August edition of BusinessF1, Webster spoke about this trait of Verstappen’s. According to him, Jos Verstappen had a personality that resulted in him having more enemies than friends. However, the same cannot be said for his son Max.
To add to this, Verstappen Jr. never received any kind of media training from Red Bull. Therefore the personality we see on display is completely his own. Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko had also commented, “Max went through a personality development that was neither controlled by us nor steered in any direction.”
max does have more fans than his father, but isn’t that just because he’s a better driver. #F1 #Verstappen pic.twitter.com/lpzFFJRNeJ
— nicp1 (@nicp1f1) August 6, 2023
Marko added that for his age and how much he has achieved, Max is a model athlete. He said, “In general, he has this special and clear demeanor, represents his own opinion. And cannot be influenced or bent.”
Verstappen has a huge fanbase and a large following both on social media and in real life. Known as the ‘Orange Army’, the presence of this fanbase can be felt especially during the Austrian and Dutch GP when we see the air filled with orange smoke from the flares.
Orange army 🧡pic.twitter.com/jjeVFLOjht https://t.co/41ocUcRz4w
— 5 (@sevisreal) July 30, 2023
Verstappen touted to be greater than the greatest
Webster also claimed that according to him, Max Verstappen will achieve levels of greatness that no other driver could in the history of the sport. The Red Bull driver already has two world championships to his name, with a third win in the waiting.
Statistically, to be on the level of drivers like Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen would need four more titles after this. However, that might be unlikely because of how often Verstappen talks about retiring and leaving Formula 1.
If he decides to cut his career short, he will surely not be able to match up with some of the greatest drivers in terms of statistics. However, if judged solely based on the impact he has had on the sport, Verstappen can surely be considered to be one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport.
