The Jos Verstappen's way 'made Max what he is', claims IndyCar legend
Updated: 15:33, 20 Jul 2025
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Co-author:Tobia Elia
Ludo van Denderen is a motorsport journalist at GPblog, specializing in Formula 1 and international racing series.
The way Max Verstappen was raised by his father Jos has probably made him the top driver that the now four-time world champion is. Arie Luyendyk, former winner of the Indy500, believes that Max Verstappen is lucky he was not his son.
There are people who believe that Jos Verstappen raised with a heavy hand, but Luyendyk suggests in the Racer podcast that Jos is 'probably 90 percent the reason' why Max has become who he is.
This makes the Dutchman living in America smile. He believes that Verstappen would never have come this far under his supervision: “I might have been too soft. I wouldn’t have been aggressive enough.”
'Jos made Max who he is'
Host Paul Tracy - himself a former top driver in IndyCar - recalls the story that Jos Verstappen made his son walk home after a bad race - something that, by the way, did not happen in the way stated.
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Lando Norris and Max Verstappen
Yet, Luyendyk admits to hearing these stories: ''I've heard stories where he would be so verbal with him, it was unbelievable. Almost like child abuse (laughs). But hey, it made Max what he is. Next level kind of driver, but also mental.''
To emphasize this, Luyendyk refers to the very wet Brazilian Grand Prix of 2024, in which Verstappen pulled off a stunning comeback to win the Grand Prix after starting from 17th on the grid.
''I was watching the Brazilian race on Netflix and there's the radio communication. And then you hear Lando on the radio, and then you hear Max. And it's like, you're listening to a 12 year old Lando, and you're listening to a 30 year old veteran, Max.''
''So calm, so calculated. Like, I can last another five minutes in this weather. And Lando was saying, 'we're all gonna die' or something like that. It's crazy how mentally strong he is.''
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''He's an amazing talent. And on top of that, he's a nice guy. To me, he is,'' he finally added.
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