Heart to heart with Jos about Max’ debut
Published on 08 March 2015 by Mike Motilall
From father to son. That is how it has been with the Verstappen family regarding the genes, race talent and nowadays the attention. Where one used to say “son of”, has now become “father of”. These days, it is not Jos but Max who is in the spotlight. “That is good and also the way it should be, because it is all to do about Max. I am pleased with it”, says Jos to Verstappen.nl, during a quiet moment in the Scuderia Toro Rosso pit box, in Barcelona.
He jokingly calls himself Max’ taxi driver, but secretly, the role of Hollands most successful F1-driver within the Toro Rosso team, is even greater. Despite the fact that he is not wearing a team uniform. “When I am beside the track watching, I see and hear more than anyone else, because I am looking at specific things. The beauty of it is, that I can communicate with my own son about it, in a sport we both love so much.” But Jos remains explicitly in the background and does not force himself upon the team in any way. “The team itself comes to talk to me, also about technical things. I will give my opinion, but will never say that something needs to be changed. That is not my place, the team has to do that.”
It has been over eleven years that Jos drove his last Grand Prix (at Minardi in 2003). The technical aspects in Formula 1 have evolved enormously during those years. “Max is being informed on specific, technical things of which I have no clue what they are about. He is gaining more knowledge on the current car, especially the power unit and all the adjustments on the steering wheel. In that sense, Max has outgrown me.” Yet, Jos sees his added value: “I look at everything around the car, we discuss that and Max knows that he can always come to me. I know how to deal with engineers and how to express the feeling in the car. Max knows that he cannot play me.”
When Max drives his first F1-race in Melbourne, it will have been 21 years ago that Jos made his debut at Benetton in the elite of motorsport. “You cannot compare that”, Jos reports. “If you look at the preparation, how drivers are treated, the training sessions, the test programs and the involvement of the team: it is a massive difference. I used to have the feeling I was just hanging around, whereas now, it is really all about the drivers at Toro Rosso. I have never been in a situation like that in my F1-career.”
“Max has a smooth style of driving and with the current F1-cars, that is what is required to save tyres and fuel”, says Jos. “My style of driving during that time, was more aggressive. That was possible then, but nowadays that would not work. Drivers, in that sense, need to adjust to the circumstances. Verstappen senior continues: “Max has dealt with it very well. Of course, it is a very different, far larger world, with a lot more people to take into account, than last year in Formula 3. But Max sees and feels what needs to be done and I think you can call that talent.”
The life of the Verstappen family is completely about motorsport. It has always been that way. Jos: “In my life everything revolved around motorsport and Max picked that up very early. Even when he has a day off, he is behind his laptop figuring out what not. He has a simulation program on his PC and is always busy with motorsport. That is his life. He cares about nothing else than racing. Max does not know any better and needs to deal with a lot of things. Sometimes pleasant, sometimes not so pleasant; but you will never hear him complain.”
Do you ever think about the dangers your son faces? “Of course. They are really fast cars and something can always happen. But you should not think about that too often. Racing is dangerous, but there are more things that are dangerous in life.”
What can we expect from Max? “The testings have made it clear to me, that Max is very strong in racing itself. But he has to learn. There is not much time available, but on track Max learns quickly. He just needs to take things as they come and do what is expected of him. Max is still allowed to make mistakes, that is why he is at Toro Rosso, but preferably as few as possible." Jos continues: “Scoring points, especially at the beginning of the season, is very important. But you have to deal with the speed of the car. The driveability of the car is excellent, but we need to see how the speed on the straights will be.”
Looking at Max, what will be considered a successful season? “That is a tough question. When he regularly scores points, drives impressive races and beats his teammate. It all looks very positive: Max does his job, or hobby, very well and everyone is very happy with him. Max can do it, he knows what he is doing. Max is a professional and knows how important it is to finish a race. I wish my son the best and hopefully he will be successful. I am just very proud of Max.”
