Jos Verstappen Explains Why He Wasn't In Las Vegas To Support His Son

Tuesday, 26 November 2024 at 16:00

Max Verstappen's father, Jos Verstappen, explained why he wasn't in Las Vegas to celebrate the championship victory with his son.

Red Bull Racing F1 driver Max Verstappen won his fourth Drivers' Championship title during the 22nd round of the 2024 season in Las Vegas.

The notes that the media received ahead of the event said that during the Rolls Royce ride after the Grand Prix, the Dutchman was supposed to be with his closest family, like girlfriend Kelly Piquet and father Jos Verstappen.

However, neither of them was present at the event, so the 27-year-old took the ride with his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, instead.

It was clear from the beginning that Verstappen could potentially secure his title in Las Vegas, so why wasn't his closest family there? Jos Verstappen explained his reasons as he told ViaPlay:

"I wasn't feeling so well. I have a little flu and then I don't want to be around Max either, for fear that I will pass it to him."

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The Dutchman still has two Grand Prix weekends left in the season, so it seems reasonable for his father not to risk passing the disease. As he is also a professional (rally) driver himself, he explained that he was preparing for his race weekend.

"Besides that, of course, you also have the time difference. I also have another race myself this weekend, so I have to prepare a bit for that."

Verstappen Sr was, of course, proud of his son and admitted that he wasn't always sure whether it would be possible for him to bring the fourth title home.

"Of course, he had a certain lead (in the drivers' championship). Whether he would keep that up, of course, depended on the development of his car. I wasn't always sure about that myself."

"But what Max eventually showed and the races he drove, especially Brazil... that is really unprecedented, and that did ensure that he managed to pull it over the line."

The four-time World Champion won the race in Brazil by more than 19 seconds ahead of everyone despite starting from P17. Although he showed that his son could deliver even in a car that wasn't the fastest, Verstappen Sr isn't sure whether he will be able to repeat this success next year.

"I mean, they're not driving the fastest car at the moment. Otherwise, he would be winning races. So, things have to happen for them to be competitive again. And it does show again how well Max deals with that. And how strong he is."