Verstappen Thankful For His Father: 'Needed To Be Pushed When I Was Kid'

Sunday, 05 January 2025 at 21:00

Red Bull Racing F1 driver Max Verstappen explained why he was grateful for how his father pushed him when he was younger.

In one of his most recent interviews, Max Verstappen explained how his approach used to annoy his father, Jos Verstappen, who was trying to prepare him for F1 when he was younger.

To this day, Max Verstappen has this so-called "we'll see" approach where he refuses to look too far into the future. On the one hand, it might be viewed negatively. On the other hand, it allows him to focus on the present.

You might be familiar with this approach. The Dutchman takes it, for example, when he's being asked about his future with Red Bull, his usual answer is: I'm happy at the moment. I would like to stay, and we'll see.

The uncertainty in the "we'll see" is something that the 27-year-old's father once couldn't understand, as Max Verstappen explained to Formula 1:

"That's always a discussion I had with my dad when I was a kid. I always had this thing that I said, 'We'll see, whatever,' and my dad couldn't [understand it]. 'What do you mean, we'll see? That's not an approach.' And I'd say, 'But that's me!"

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"I don't like to stress out on things. I don't like to overthink or overcomplicate stuff. I know when I jump in, whether it's a go-kart or a car."

"Once I put my helmet on, I'm on it. That keeps me sane I guess! Just being very relaxed and calm about it."

"I don't want to fry my brain about too many thoughts about how I can influence certain things."

As the four-time world champion added, his father now better understands his approach. However, Max Verstappen also said that he's grateful for the times when his father used to push him, as he needed it when he was younger.

"Now he's ok. Now he's like, 'Yeah, I think it's all right!' But it's fine. I needed to be pushed when I was a kid, my dad definitely did that and I'm very happy that he did because it's made me the driver that I am today."

"I'm very happy with how my life started in racing, all the way to F1. Sometimes, I was a little bit lazy, but my dad made me realize what we were doing and what it was for. I'm very thankful for how we grew up and how we got to the top."

Some F1 fans often question Max Verstappen's upbringing, but the fact is that he's a four-time world champion, voted the best driver on the grid by all team principals, and, most importantly, seems to be happy.