Jos happy with Max' first Jerez outing

Published on 02 February 2015 by Stefan Meens

Throughout his son's whole career, from karting into Formula 3, Jos Verstappen stood side by side Max Verstappen. No wonder, the Netherlands' most successful Formula 1 driver joined his son in Jerez to support him during his first outing at the Spanish circuit. The Verstappen Info Page caught up with Jos.

Residing in pits and paddock, Jos looks on as his son completes his first official miles of the 2015 Formula 1 season. “I think he did a good job, explains Jos. “He struggled in his first run, mainly with the brake temperature. But he points out the right things to the team so they're able to make changes. Straight away things went better.” 

Jos explains that resolving issues quickly is crucial for a driver's confidence. “If the brakes aren't warm enough, the whole feel of the car changes. It can lead to the tyre temp dipping etc. Basically issues are hardly isolated, they can influence a lot of things on the car. But that's Formula 1: small issues can lead to difficult situations.”

For Jos, lap times are not important during the first Jerez test. “The main aim is to get as much track time as possible and to get as much information as possible. I think they did that today. Also, there's no point comparing lap times as some drivers will have used different, softer tyres.”

In the end, Jos is delighted with Max' first day in which his son completed 73 valuable laps. However. Verstappen senior is not the only one happy with the day's progress: “I've a had a quick chat with Max' engineer and he is very happy with today. Max didn’t make any mistakes and drove very consistent”, concludes Jos.