No driver in F1 is in better form than Max Verstappen at the moment. The Dutchman won the 2021 world championship following a colossal title fight with Lewis Hamilton and followed it up with a dominant championship win in 2022.
His rise to the top of F1 at a relatively young age has been meteoric and his maturity behind the wheel earned plaudits even during his earliest days in F1. He broke several records before winning his world championships, including becoming the youngest-ever race winner in F1.
Verstappen’s glittering start to life in F1 was preceded by his dominant junior career. He was a force to reckon with in the karting circuit and almost every tournament he took part in, ended up being a one-horse race that went in his favor. However, the credit behind Verstappen achieving so much success often goes to his father Jos Verstappen.
Jos Verstappen was way too hard on his son Max
Jos Verstappen is a former F1 driver himself, and even though he tasted very little success in the sport, he made it his life’s ambition to make sure his son makes it big. He often labeled Max as his ‘life’s project’ and spent almost all their time together traveling around the world and winning races during the latter’s childhood.
However, their relationship has always been scrutinized because of how hard Verstappen Sr. was on his son. Instances like Jos leaving Max behind in a deserted gas station after he lost a race have saddened many in the F1 community as they lament over how difficult his childhood was.
Another incident was revealed by journalist Alanis King, who talked about why Verstappen refused to treat his neck pain.
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Why does Verstappen refuse to treat his neck pain after races?
Because of the g-force, F1 drivers often suffer from severe neck pain after the races. This pain comes despite them being in peak physical condition, which just shows how demanding the sport is. Drivers recover from this by having massages or simply patting on their neck after races for momentary relief.
Verstappen, however, thinks this is for cry babies. King, on a podcast by Donut Racing Show, talks about how the 25-year-old insisted that having neck pain as an F1 driver is normal. “You’re just supposed to have neck pain,” is what Verstappen said according to King.
Verstappen seems to think this way because of what his father made him believe when he was a child. The former Benetton driver’s methods of raising Max Verstappen may be scrutinized by everyone, but he himself has always defended his father, citing him as the reason why he is a two-time world champion today.
