Jos Verstappen about Max' eagerness: 'Nothing wrong with that, but think first'
Published on 16 April 2018 by Mike Motilall
The 2018 Formula 1-season has had three Grand Prix so far, but Max Verstappen hasn’t had the start of the season he had hoped for. During the last race weekend in China, the Dutchman blew a good chance of taking home the victory after poor judgement of an overtaking maneuver. His father, Jos Verstappen, has shed some light in Ziggo Sport's Peptalk on Max’ driving style and how Aston Martin Red Bull Racing can regroup themselves.
Lately there has been much discussion on Max’ eagerness. How does Jos see this? “I don’t think there is anything wrong with that”, says the former Formula 1-driver. “I still think Max’ move on Hamilton in Bahrain was a good one. Max put his RB14 quite decently alongside Hamilton’s Mercedes and let the car just ease its way forward. He is also forced to take a bit more risk because the Red Bull lacks some top speed compared to the Mercedes. Looking back, he should have given Hamilton some more space exiting the corner. On the other hand, Hamilton could have done the same with Max. That’s why it was deemed a racing incident and they were both at fault.”
“However, Max is always put under scrutiny and because of his age, he is looked at even more. If you look at the fight between Alonso and Vettel at the Chinese Grand Prix, you’ll see that that isn’t talked about. But Max’ attempt on Hamilton, during the same race, is reason for much debate. I think it’s not done that Max is given such an unfair rep by the press. As a matter of fact, I don’t think the move on Hamilton was too bad at all. Something that really was wrong, was his attempt on Vettel. That was not even possible and was clearly poor judgement.”
Jos responds to the question of what could be the reason for his sometimes impatient nature: “I’ll see Max tomorrow and we will talk about it. Last weekend was really painful and this needs to be discussed. Max needs to focus more during certain conditions. But, I don’t want him to change the way he drives. Let’s be honest: the start, where he overtook two drivers, that was just perfect. That’s what we want to see. Not the other moves from him and he needs to get that sorted out. In a normal fashion we will analyze what happened. But he damn well knows it himself. I don’t need to explain it to him anymore.” Jos is actually not even mad at him: “I am not mad at him, but disappointed. In the end, he is the one who is suffering.”
Jos’ presence at the races during the season is also talked about: “I don’t always need to be there anymore”, says Max’ father. “He doesn’t need me. However, at times I can pretty quickly see how Max is feeling and coping during certain conditions.” Father Verstappen will be present at the next Grand Prix at Azerbaidjan: “That was already planned. I also plan on being at Barcelona and Monaco. I wasn’t present at the last two races as I also need to think about myself.” But miss out on the action is out of the question: “I hear everything within the team and I see the same lap times as Olav Mol does at the circuit, so I don’t miss a beat.”
