Max Verstappen with Jos Verstappen ahead of the 2024 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix. (Photo by Michael Potts/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Max Verstappen's father, Jos Verstappen, once shared a story of how he scolded the Dutch driver during a poor performance in his karting days. He recalled this incident in an interview in 2020.
Ever since Max started racing, he has shown tremendous promise. Even in his karting days, he won most of the championships he participated in, from Mini Juniors, Rotax, and WSK to CIK FIA karting world championships. Till 2013, he was still driving go-karts. In every step of Max's professional career, Jos Verstappen has always been there by his side, helping in building the kart itself and guiding his son in racecraft.
Speaking on CarNext's interview with David Coulthard, both Jos and Max Verstappen recalled a karting world championship incident where the latter was driving poorly. Jos Verstappen said that when he saw his son's performance, he quickly called him into the pits, slapped him hard on his helmet, and scolded him. He urged his son to perform better since it was a world championship and hoped that they could win it.
