Verstappen: 'He made me realise that what I was doing was not good enough'

In conversation with Channel 4 Max Verstappen said that his father Jos Verstappen told him that he would never become champion of Formula 1. Although that sounds harsh, Verstappen junior says his father meant it in a good way.

In conversation with David Coulthard Verstappen talks about his younger years, when he could be found on the karting track with his father Jos every week. "My dad never said that I was going to be a champion. He was always the opposite and would tell me that I was going to be a truck driver! In a good way, he was always making me realise that what I was doing at the time was not enough," says Verstappen.

"I was winning races but he said that it wasn’t enough to be successful in Formula 1." Verstappen says that even when he entered Formula 1 in 2015, he still did not work hard enough according to father Jos. This is mainly due to the way Verstappen approaches a weekend, as Verstappen junior is a lot more relaxed than his father.

Verstappen says he is always very 'neutral'. "I don’t care if it’s negative and I don’t really care if it’s positive. If I think that I can walk on water then it’s going to make me arrogant and when it’s negative you’re going to be upset and angry at everyone. It’s better to be in the middle and forget about both sides."