Manly tears of happiness yesterday, Verstappen written on a sheet and put outside my house. Not sure if patriotic or simply because I'm a fan of Verstappen, though. Lol
as painful as it was to see Ferrari lose, seeing Max pull it off made me happy for the kid...now destroy him! haha
Well there's a first! Actually, after Bas' comment I really did scan back thru the whole thread, and while I "concentrated" on my posts, didn't really notice any "oh ****, wish I never wrote that" type posts..... Guess we're a pretty fair & open minded lot here! Cheers, Ian
me too, lol. the kid's got off to a mighty fairytale start though that's for sure. lets see how he goes for the years to come. the dad let it slip that max is signed w the soda company until 2019.
It's a pity the FIA didn't go for 3 car teams. Would be great fun to see him pilot either Ferrari or Merc
...oh, and as for the cash register ringing....I think for the next 15+ years. Good grief, he'll be the richest sportsman in history if the past is any indication.
Max is the real deal. I will not be surprised one bit the day he becomes champion. If Ferrari is smart they will snatch him up and get rid of Kimi. Time for some new blood.
I had the opportunity to interact with Max & Jos for three race weekends during his karting career. I witnessed some aspects that I believe make this kid so good. Forgive me but I won't give more details of the circumstances for my own privacy. Before meeting them for the first time, I will never forget when a team owner told me "... people are gossiping that Jos beats Max when he does **** on the track or doesn't put enough effort on winning...". I laughed out and loud on that "absurdity", although the first thing that came into my mind were Jos well-known short temper and his history of physical attacks (e.g.: ex-wife, girlfriend, other drivers, etc.). Well, at that same day Max was leading the pre-final race, driving at the limit even though he had a huge margin to the second under terrible track conditions (half-wet). Some laps before the end he spun alone, dropped a lot of places and wasted a precious opportunity to start the final at pole position. As if that team owner had written a script for a story, I saw Jos snorting in anger, with his face all red, rushing to pick up Max at the parc ferme. As he approached, someone pulled Max and another person held Jos back, who looked in anger at the kid, pointed his finger and shouted something in Dutch. I believed that the physical spanking story was a joke and I still do, but Max's face expression to that "threat" was terrifying (no joke!). Some weeks later and Max switched to the team I was following on, so I could share the team amenities with the Verstappens and chat with them once and a while. First of all, I thought father and son had very different personalities. Jos was a nice guy, somewhat serious and reserved, but would explode in nervousness while Max was racing. Max was also very educated but totally tranquil, he was never nervous, and most of the time smiling while talking to others. He was already a star at that time but was humble and treated everyone with respect. In an environment full of arrogant millionaire kids, Max was definitely different and down to earth. Between heats, while the others were concerned with their iPads, massagists, Sky TVs, etc., Max was there cleaning his kart, discussing set-ups with the mechanics or simply chilling out with no luxury around whatsoever. Jos demanded maximum effort from Max during all the time, regardless if at the track or at the paddock. No joke, I have witnessed many racing drivers' parents, team owners, coaches, etc., but I have never seen someone so demanding as Jos. The guy was a truly perfection maniac to the point that he, by himself, decided to completely disassemble and assemble the entire kart again just to make sure every tiny bolt was tightened according to his taste, to the mechanic's despair because the next heat was in just 50 minutes. Jos and I watched together the last race at the roof of the team's truck. Unfortunately Max was not performing well with that kart, dropped many places during the final, and I witnessed the sprouting of a Dutch chili! Seriously, the guy was again all red, grinding his teeth and shouting curse words in Dutch. However, later after the race he did not threaten Max, as if he had realized that the equipment was not performing and so was not Max's fault. Anyway, for me it is clear that Jos raised Max under extreme discipline and would not accept failures. From that very first day I saw Jos rushing to the parc ferme, I realized that he didn't accept anything but victory, or at least that his son had put the last drop of blood to chase the top. Looks like that being a very demanding father pays off...
Thanks for that story Flav, gives me hope Max will remain a good kid with both feet planted firmly on the ground
Jos is a true ego maniac. Very, very short temper (and no, not quoting hearsay here). That said, before this weekend Jos has said he is now taking a step back from managing (this is before sunday) as he believes Christian Horner & co is the better man to coach Verstappen. He's in a top team now. Jos came from a very different household than many, so maybe he thought that the ''strict discipline'' is the only way. Max is an adult now, and of course getting stronger each day so perhaps Jos stepped apart wisely .
Thanks Flavio_C, great insight. Story sounds very familiar to everything you hear and read about it in the media, although slighty toned down ofcourse. What was noticable after Max's win was not only Jos's happiness but relief in equal measure. What I noticed by the way is that C.Sainz wasn't in the TRS garage as well. Both Jos and C Sainz were always present in the TRS garage during the race.
I've heard similar on Jan and Kevin magnusson. He's super disciplined. Back to max, while I do think he's got a great talent and is fun to watch, he also got lucky on strategy. It was ricciardos race to win, but the strategy didnt pay off. When push came to shove, Daniel showed up and made it known he was there to win. Max v Daniel will be fun to watch this year.
Very insightful, thank you for posting. So much for a carefree childhood. Who's ambitions are being realized here? Max seems like a decent kid, I think everyone in the sport wishes him well. Except Kvyat.
Someone (Bas?) posted a "Jos & Max karting" video a while back - They had maybe 50 karts piled up in their shop - Great stuff, but illustrated how difficult it could be for "mere mortals" to get to the same place...... Cheers, Ian
I'm not sure it's the one I recall, but close enough, thanks! [ame]http://youtube.com/watch?v=Sc22WDEvpv8[/ame] Illustrates something of the resources they were able to throw into his racing from age 4 onwards. We know motor racing, at any level, isn't 'cheap', but how many kids get that kind of 'jump' on it? I'm happy it's working out for him, but what a great way to grow up! Cheers, Ian
Yep, I have never been a great fan of realising ambition by proxy myself, but if it works for them ...
I thought that at first but I must say Jos is a top dad and has devoted a lot of time to his boy and his boy loves him for it, can't ask for more out of a father/son relationship. Where is his mum in all this ?
+1 If Max didn't want to go this route, I suspect Jos wouldn't have 'forced' him. A supportive & able Dad, with knowledge of the game, must be great. As Bernie would note, 'in the kitchen!' Cheers, Ian
