“The Number One Driver” – Jos Verstappen Once Hijacked His Teammate’s Car for the FP Session After Crashing His Own Car

Much before Max Verstappen stepped into the world of F1, his father, Jos Verstappen, had made quite a name for himself in the sport. Similarly to the 26-year-old, Jos was also extremely aggressive as a driver and highly competitive. So much so that as per a recent report by F1oversteer, a former teammate recalled how Jos once hijacked his car for a practice session after crashing his own car.

Former F1 driver Enrique Bernoldi recently appeared on the Beyond the Grid podcast and described his experiences of being Jos’ teammate back in 2002 when the two of them were driving for Arrows. The Brazilian recalled an incident that happened during the Austrian GP when the 51-year-old Dutchman crashed his car.

Jos Verstappen driving his Arrows Supertec A21 during the 2000 Austrian GP.
QP: 10th
Race: Ret@UnracedF1 @CrystalRacing #F1 #RetroF1 pic.twitter.com/YEZZbYvU0b

— Black Mask (@Cianc_97) September 21, 2023

As soon as Bernoldi stopped in the pits, the team instructed him to move over and give his car to Verstappen for the rest of the session. He said, “They explained that he was there with the team for many years. He was the number one driver and that’s how it goes“.

After the incident, Bernoldi also admitted that there were tensions between the two of them during their time as teammates. However, he made it clear that no such ill feelings exist today.

Jos Verstappen decided to mentor Max after his own struggles in F1

Enrique Bernoldi revealed that despite Jos Verstappen’s aggressive nature, the Dutchman was slower than him during qualifying. Moreover, Verstappen, who was also teammates with Michael Schumacher in 1994, failed to match the German as well.

🗣️ | Jos Verstappen denies he ‘abused’ Max:

“There are people who say I’m a bad father because I abused my child, I never abused him!”

“I raised him, I was hard on him. That was my plan, many people cannot imagine what it takes to reach the absolute top level of a sport.” pic.twitter.com/xaXW1Hd5eS

— Verstappen News (@verstappenews) April 5, 2023

Because of his struggles in F1, the 51-year-old gave up his career to focus on his son, Max Verstappen. He mentored his son from a very young age and is well known to be an extremely strict parent.

Sometimes he even allegedly crossed the line of parental abuse. However, the strict parenting seems to have worked wonders for Max, who has already won three world championships at the age of 26.