hearing the last name VerstappenEveryone thinks of Max, Checo Pérez’s teammate at Red Bull and two-time Formula 1 champion. But his father, José Verstappen, also has a well-earned place in the great circus.
Surely you knew about the anecdote of when Jos Verstappen dumped Max Abandoned at a gas station. That’s just one example of how he forged the current world champion, but before mentoring Max, Jos Verstappen had his own story as a driver.
Jos Verstappen and his time in Formula 1 as a driver
Max Verstappen’s father was born on March 4, 1972. in Montford, the Netherlands. 22 years later he made his debut as a driver in Formula 1 with the Benetton team. His career took place from 1994 to 2003 after outstanding years in minor categories.
Jos Verstappen came to F1 with achievements in his first seasonsince his first podium came in the same 1994 at the Hungarian Grand Prix. He did not manage to be world champion and in fact he only added one more podium in his career, because according to his own words, he made the mistake of jumping into F1 with an important team.
“I should have chosen another team for the debutgo to a smaller team, learn and then move to a bigger one. Not going to a top team right away“declared in an F1 podcast in 2019, according to retake Clarion.
Jose Verstappen He also raced for the Simtek, Footwork, Tyrrell, Stewart, Arrows and Minardi teams, before retire from F1 to continue his racing career competing in the A1 Grand Prix and at Le Mans.
The day his car went up in flames… at a pit stop
Despite little success as a driver, he was the protagonist of one of the most remembered moments in the entire history of the highest category of motorsport. Right in his debut year, At the German Grand Prix, a pit stop turned into hell for Jos Verstappen at times and the Benetton mechanics.
That July 31, 1994, seconds after stopping in the pits, Jos Verstappen’s car ended up engulfed in flames. The gasoline hose did not fit as it should, so the pressure of the liquid caused it to come loose and bathe the car, the driver, and the mechanics. A spark was enough for everything to catch fire and the fire engulfed Jos Verstappen for a few seconds.
The images after the fire that could have ended the career of Jos Verstappen in their debut year they went around the world. The photo of mechanic Paul Seaby, for example, is legendary.
“I remember going in for what I thought would be a normal pit stop. I always opened the visor of the helmet because when I stopped I would sweat a lot. Then I saw the fluid coming before I could smell anything, which is why I was waving my arm. Everything caught fire and suddenly it was dark and black and I couldn’t breathe“remembered Jose Verstappen about that accident.
“It was difficult to remove the steering wheel, and that took me a couple of seconds. Then I had to release the belts. So there were many things I had to do before I realized what had happened“.
Jos Verstappen, the hard man of Red Bull who does not celebrate the triumphs of Checo Pérez
At the moment, Max Verstappen’s father works hand in hand with him to take him to the top of Formula 1. After leaving his career, he dedicated himself completely to training Max.
However, it is multi-criticized for the way he raised his son, with a heavy hand He himself had to go out to clarify that he never mistreated Max, it only prepared him with a lot of discipline to succeed as a pilot.
And about the success of Max Verstappen there is no doubt, the issue is that Jos shows that he is looking for his son’s victory and nothing else. Despite the fact that Checo Pérez is his teammate, his victories are not to Jos Verstappen’s liking.
it’s 2023, The two victories of the Mexican in Arabia and Australia have left Jos cold, with a face of few friends with which he does not hide his annoyance at all. Even Max Verstappen has had to come out to defend him due to the criticism that this leaves him.
Jose Verstappenquite a character and a fundamental piece behind Max’s success in Formula 1.
