'Owe A Lot To My Dad': Verstappen Says Talent Not Enough To 'Bring You All The Way'
F1Tuesday, 23 January 2024 at 03:00
Max Verstappen is one of the F1 drivers, who became a driver because of his dad, and he's thankful for that.
Carlos Sainz has a dad who is a very successful racing driver, Nico Rosberg is son of the 1982 Formula One World Champion, Keke Rosberg, and Max Verstappen's father is also a son of former racing driver, Jos Verstappen.
Jos Verstappen didn't have as successful racing career as the likes of Sainz and Rosberg, but the Dutch driver stood on the podium in Formula One twice, and he recorded 106 race starts between 1994 and 2003.
And even though he wasn't a very successful racing driver, he has been probably the most successful mentor, as he raised his son to become a three-time World Champion, and one of the most dominant drivers in the sport's history.
Ahead of the 2024 season, Verstappen talked to The Times, and he also talked about his dad, who had a major influence on his career. The 26-year-old realizes that even thought talent is very important, without his dad, he probably wouldn't be where he is now.
"I think you definitely need this kind of natural ability and talent for racing. But of course it will not bring you all the way to the top. I owe a lot, of course, to my dad."
Verstappen also thinks that he didn't grow love for the sport because he would be directly inspired by his dad, but simply being around the sport made him want to experience it, similarly to Rosberg and Sainz.
"But I think when I grew up it was not so much that I was, like, ‘I want to do what my dad is doing.’ It was just I grew up in that environment where I was always at the racetrack because of my dad."
However, Verstappen's upbringing was strict, as his father saw potential in him, and Max has been really dedicated to his career. However, the Dutch driver insists that he still had a normal childhood, despite being aware that he had to focus on his career.
"I still played and had a lot of fun, but I also needed to understand that what we were doing was serious."
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