Verstappen reveals how he is incredibly fast in all (F1) cars thanks to father Jos
Co-author:Pietro Vurro
Marnik Kok caught the Formula 1 world around twenty years ago. A deep passion for motorsport, Ferrari, and a background in journalism led him to contribute to various (international) F1 platforms. Since 2020, Marnik has been active as an editor and journalist in the pinnacle of motorsport for several media outlets, including De Telegraaf. As of 2025, he brings that experience to GPblog as a seasoned editor.
During his active years as a journalist — now working as a freelancer — Marnik attended numerous events, with the Dutch Grand Prix standing out as one of the highlights. In addition to his work at GPblog, Marnik is also active in the communications sector at a major national provider and steps in wherever needed. Sitting still is not an option — especially not in motorsport!
Max Verstappen is not only good at Formula 1, but can effectively drive almost any car and quickly. He has already demonstrated this in a GT3 car and even with all the changes in cars over the years, he knows how to adapt. He explains why this is - and how this can certainly benefit him in 2026 - in a Red Bull interview on Youtube.
It’s all to do with his youth, his father's training, and a few clever tricks. Verstappen, of course, had the privilege of having a father who drove Formula 1 and has drawn a lot of knowledge, experience, and skill from this. "Yeah, it's something that I practiced from a young age. Of course, on my side, what helped, I think, growing up with my dad, who had raced in F1 himself, so I think from a very young age, we went testing" he says on the Red Bull channel.
Father Jos Verstappen aided Verstappen in a clever way. "What my dad really liked to do is he was always like, changing the setup without telling me what it was and I had to come back in and tell him what the feeling was and then he would say okay that's correct or he didn't feel that correct and it was a constant like learning process."
"We would do all these like different kind of like mini races or different kind of things to adapt. You're constantly adapting and play these kind of games. So yeah, it was fun. We were racing, having a great time, just enjoying also. And I do think that has helped me a lot over the years to adapt quickly to things or when I have a problem, like when I feel, oh, the car is very oversteer, but you are in the race, what can you do? You can't come in and change the setup"
Verstappen can adapt wherever and whenever necessary
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The Dutchman explains that this way he can adapt very quickly to 'what the car needs'. Also, sim racing in different cars helps too. A big hobby of the Dutchman, as is known. "I do a lot of sim racing. I drive a lot of different cars, so from GT cars to smaller Formula cars to, of course, F1. The more I drive different kind of cars, the more, you know, you have to be precise with a lot of little things, and I bring that back into Formula 1, and I think it does help me. I mean, I'm constantly doing the same thing. It's my hobby, of course, but at the same time, I'm constantly thinking about setup."
"How can I go faster? Yeah, I think it definitely helps." he says candidly about the games and training from and with his father Jos.
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