Jos: 'Seeing how easily Max performs, I realize how good he is'
Published on 28 April 2021 by Mike Motilall
On Wednesday morning, Jos Verstappen took part in an Instagram Live-session to have a chat with Jack van Gelder. Are you sometimes surprised by Max’ qualities? Jos: “Seeing how easily Max performs, I realize how good he really is. I have once asked myself if I was that good at all back in the days.”
Max appears to be in perfect balance. “He is”, Jos affirms. “Max is very relaxed in his daily life and take things as they come. I still see a lot of him from when he was younger and that is maybe a good thing. He takes things in stride, but as soon as he puts his helmet on and gets into his car he knows what he needs to do. He is then so outstanding.”
It is not always apparent that Formula 1-drivers need to be in ship shape to be able to drive their cars. Jos explains: “Everyone that has been in a racing car, knows how tough it is. If I have been out and about in a racing car for just a single day, all my muscles in my body are sore the next day. My back, my rear end, my arms, shoulders, neck, legs, everything hurts; you use that many muscles when racing. And then there are even not a lot of G-forces involved. But Max pulls almost 6 G’s when braking in his Formula 1-racing car. You really need to be an athlete to be able to cope with that.”
This year, a record breaking 23 Grands Prix are on the calendar. “I now of course have my own personal life, so I cannot be present at all times”, says Jos. “I have a nice family now so I don’t even want that anymore. I will go if I need to be there, it’s an important year and it looks good.”
Is it exciting to be there live or to watch from a distance at home? Jos: “I think when I am at home, because then you don’t get all the extra information. I will never forget the moment when Max slid off into the tyre wall during the formation lap in Budapest in 2020. I started calling everyone at Red Bull Racing to see if everything was going to be okay. At that moment in time I have the same amount of information at my disposal as everyone else. Thankfully the team manager texted me that everything was fine and will be ready.”
Red Bull now has a car that is fighting for the championship. You don’t have to worry about that. Does that give you some peace of mind? Jos replies: “It gives some peace of mind but on the other hand it is also very stressful. It is very exciting. I think that Red Bull and Mercedes are almost equally matched. Toto Wolff says that Red Bull has the better car and Christian Horner in turn says that Mercedes has the better one, but I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. At every circuit the favourite differs, depending on what suits a particular car. That also creates more pressure.”
How do you see the relationship developing between Lewis Hamilton and Max? Jos: “You just don’t know how that will develop, but I think that we can expect something this year. They are both men that don’t want to be outdone by the other, definitely when it will be even more about the championship. Neither of them will settle for less. I think that it will be an intense and great year.”
Should Max win the race in Portugal coming Sunday, it will be the first time in history that a Dutchman will lead the Formula 1 world championship. “I am all for it”, says Jos. “But you never know. Of course we want to win, but the most important thing is that Max is at the top after 23 races. We have worked hard and long to get a car that is able to fight for the championship. Max has one now and hopefully he is at the top of the standings at the end of the year. That’s what it’s all about.”
