Jos Verstappen’s tough parenting style for his world-champion son has been well-known in F1 circles. However, Max Verstappen has confessed that it has not negatively impacted his life and credits his father for his success. Although, F1 journalist Will Buxton pointed out how Jos Verstappen might still have an aggressive influence on his son.
Buxton pointed out the two races – Austria and Hungary, where Verstappen was agitated with his team. Coincidentally, his father was physically present on both occasions. The British journalist correlated the agitation toward his team with Jos’ relationship with Red Bull and team boss Christian Horner.
Speaking on the BBC’s F1: Chequered Flag podcast, Buxton highlighted, “They’re the only two races I can recall that his dad was present at. We know that there’s a huge eruption between his father, Christian Horner, and Red Bull as a whole. I just wonder how much that would’ve played out over the weekend”.
Jos Verstappen has not been on the best of terms with Horner, especially since the latter faced serious allegations at the start of 2024. The former Benetton driver was also reportedly pushing his son to move away from Red Bull. Although, that situation has mellowed down and the Austrian team is now facing a lot of performance-based issues on track.
The Race’s Scott Mitchell-Malm also pointed out that the events of Hungary were more damaging than those of Austria. In Hungary, Verstappen was constantly upset because of the poor strategy and the car’s poor balance. These instances would put the 26-year-old’s future at Red Bull under uncertainty. However, as of the Hungarian GP, he can’t go anywhere now.
Verstappen cannot leave because the Helmut Marko clause won’t take effect now
It was widely reported the Dutchman has a clause in his contract that ties his future with the Red Bull advisor. If Marko had left, it would’ve given the three-time champion free will to leave Red Bull. Owing to the car and the team’s poor performance, Verstappen would’ve lived very much to have this option.
If not exercised it, the 26-year-old could’ve leveraged this clause to make everyone back in Milton Keynes work that little bit extra if they weren’t already. However, the Austrian advisor has recently adjusted and confirmed his stay at the team until the end of 2026. As a result, Verstappen is now seemingly locked in with the Austrian outfit at least till the end of the 2026 season.
Regardless, if the reigning champions continue their sluggish on-track output, this could seriously scorn the Dutchman’s relationship with the team. If Red Bull loses out on either of the championships in 2024, the internal battle will only intensify next year.
With reports of Red Bull’s new power unit not performing as expected, 2026 could see them fall further down the pecking order. It could all go downhill for Verstappen, but he could then exercise performance clauses in his contract.
