Jos Verstappen pulls back the curtain on the role he still plays in Max Verstappen's F1 career

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen's father Jos Verstappen has revealed that he still plays a reduced but important guiding role in his son's career. The Dutchman is a former F1 driver himself and has mentored his son to four World Drivers' Championships.

It is well documented that Jos Verstappen trained his son to be an F1 driver from a very young age. Max Verstappen has also often attributed his success in the sport to his father's 'tough love' and hard training in the early stages of his life.

Jos Verstappen has been seen in the paddock at almost all races in the early stages of his son's career but the 52-year-old is now seen only sporadically and not as often as previous years.

Speaking on the Dutch Op De Rallykoffie podcast, the former Formula 1 driver shared that he still plays a role in Max Verstappen's career, albeit lesser. He said:

“I'm also busy with Max, of course. That's a little less now, but certainly in the beginning of his career I gave him direction, also in Formula 1 and that's still running now. He is also old and wise enough to do that himself now."

The 52-year-old added that the four-time F1 champion values the honest feedback he provides, saying:

"And I think I'm the one who still tells him honestly what's going well and what's not going well. And he appreciates that too.”

Jos Verstappen is often perceived as an intense figure. Not long ago, he had been at loggerheads with Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner, following the Brit being accused of inappropriate behavior by a female employee.

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Jos Verstappen says he always has Max Verstappen's best interests at heart

Max Verstappen and Jos Verstappen in 2021 (Image Source: Getty)

Jos Verstappen has explained that he is often critical in his feedback to Max Verstappen as he believes this is important if the Dutchman wants to continue dominating F1 like he has for the past four years.

Speaking on the aforementioned podcast, he expanded on the nature of the conversation between the father-son duo, saying:

“I think everybody needs [honesty] a little bit. I mean, I always have his best interests at heart and of course we want to win everything. That includes criticism. And besides rally, that's basically my life. Everything revolves around racing."

Max Verstappen bagged his fourth successive F1 World Championship in 2024 with 437 points to his name. The Dutchman won nine races throughout the season but was unable to guide Red Bull Racing to the Constructors' Championship, as they finished third behind McLaren and Ferrari.

Verstappen will now aim to win his fifth successive F1 World Championship in 2025, a feat only Michael Schumacher has achieved before.