How Max Verstappen’s Jealousy Created a World Champion, Dutchman Reveals the Story of His Beginnings in Racing

The passion for racing and roaring machines isn’t built, the person is born with it. But that doesn’t mean they don’t work hard enough to achieve that goal. Max Verstappen had the blood of Jos Verstappen, so it was guaranteed for him to become a racer. But it was actually Jealousy that created the champion we know. 

A lot of people call out Jos Verstappen for being overly harsh on Max when he was a kid. After a post-race argument, Papa Verstappen left the now 3X champion at the gas station and Sophie Kumpen had to pick him up. But Max Verstappen has always been clear that it was all because of his dad that he became the driver that he is today. On Jos’ side, he explains how he knew what it took to be a World Champion in F1 and hence was harsh on his son. 

But none of this would’ve mattered if Max Verstappen hadn’t taken the first step to show interest in F1. We always thought it was Jos Verstappen who put his son in a Go Kart but that isn’t the reality. It’s an incident from when Max Verstappen was only 4 years old. 

Max Verstappen, during the Mobil 1 presentation in China, discussed how he got into racing and said, “I got my first go-kart at 4 years old. There was a little boy near me who was driving. I envied him, so I asked my parents for a go-kart. I didn’t think it would become my career, and we have been friends for 20 years.”

And it’s not only Verstappen, every driver has a story like this that got them into F1. For Fernando Alonso, it was watching Ayrton Senna on the TV that inspired him to become a racer. Charles Leclerc has Jules Bianchi in that big brother role who inspired him and is the reason why Monegasque drives for the Scuderia.

However, unlike Leclerc, Verstappen’s chances of staying at the team that gave him the breakthrough look slim. 

Toto Wolff Pursuing Max Verstappen to Join Mercedes

Over the years, Toto Wolff has talked about the missed opportunity of not being able to sign Max Verstappen in the mid-2010s because of having two drivers in the seat with a contract, i.e. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. But now, there is another opportunity for the Mercedes CEO, who is trying heads and tails to sign the Dutchman, even offering him a salary higher than Lewis Hamilton, and allowing him to bring Helmut Marko. 

Tom Clarkson, on the F1 Nation podcast, said, “Now that Fernando Alonso is locked in at Aston Martin, Max is either going to stay at Red Bull or move to Mercedes. In Japan, I was told by several people that Toto Wolff is pursuing Max very strongly. He needs a signature signing because the last three years haven’t been going very well for the team, and it would be a real statement of intent. It was even mentioned to me that he said to Max, ‘Bring Helmut Marko with you if that’s what it requires.’”

Did you like the Max Verstappen story about the origin of his racing career? What is your opinion of Jos Verstappen’s way of teaching his kid?