Max Verstappen’s father Jos Verstappen has been infamous for adopting controversial parenting methods during the Red Bull driver’s childhood.
By Armaan AgarwalUpdated February 26, 2024 / 13:20 GMT
Max Verstappen and Jose Versatppen (Via IMAGO)
Max Verstappen has had a complicated history with his father Jos Verstappen. Jos Verstappen is a former F1 driver who was even teammates with legendary Michael Schumacher. However, the 51-year-old has often been seen as a harsh parental figure who took extreme steps towards his child. Now, the younger Verstappen has denied a serious claim over his junior career.
It is widely speculated that Jos Verstappen forced his son to race karts during his childhood. Some believe that the 51-year-old wanted Max Verstappen to become an F1 world champion. When asked in an interview, the 26-year-old put an end to this urban legend. Max Verstappen claimed that he urged his mother Sophie Kumpen to get him a go-kart when he was around the age of three. However, his father told the Dutchman that he would have to wait till his sixth birthday.
At the time I saw a kid younger than me driving. He was three, I was four. I was at the track with my mother because my father was racing. I told her I wanted to race a go-kart too! She called my dad, who said no, and asked me to wait until I was six.Max Verstapen told M4 Sport
However, Max Verstappen kept pestering his parents to buy him a go-kart. Ultimately, Kumpen convinced her husband and the couple brought the future F1 champion his first ever go-kart. The rest is simply history as the Dutch driver would go on to become one of the best drivers in the history of the racing world.
But I didn’t budge, and six months later my mother finally convinced my father to buy me a go-kart.Discover: Helmut Marko reveals ‘easy’ condition for Sergio Perez to save his $10 million paying Red Bull seatMax Verstappen highlights the importance of good parenting
The three-time world champion claimed that it was crucial that parents do not force theirs on interests on their children. The 26-year-old admitted that sports are definitely a good activity for young children. However, a child should get to decide a sport of their own choice instead of being forced into a particular field by their family.
I think it’s very important that parents don’t force anything on you. In general, it’s good for a child to play sports, but it’s up to them to choose what they want to do.
Jos Verstappen with his son, Max Verstappen (Credits: BBC)
Max Verstappen has a strong bond with Jos Verstappen. However, the 51-year-old took some drastic measures to teach his son. Once, Jos Verstappen abandoned the Dutchman at a gas station at the age of 14 for losing a race. The ex-F1 driver continues to defend his parenting methods to this day.
Certainly, Max Verstappen continues to share a good relationship with his father. So much so, that the 26-year-old is having a hard time at Red Bull due to the tensions between Christian Horner and Jos Verstappen. As the Red Bull team boss is investigated over inappropriate behavior. It remains to be seen how things pan out for Milton Keynes in the coming weeks.
