Michael Schumacher's close friend at Ferrari pays tribute to Max Verstappen's father Jos Verstappen: "He doesn't f**k around"

Michael Schumacher's aide, Gino Rosato, worked with Ferrari when Max Verstappen's father, Jos Verstappen, was on the F1 grid. Now, the 53-year-old's son has been at the top of F1 for the past few years. In a recent conversation, the ex-Ferrari man expressed that Verstappen Sr. was a "pure thug" in the racing world.

The 53-year-old made his debut in 1994 and was Schumacher's teammate in his rookie season. Despite two podium finishes, he couldn't retain his seat at Benetton and jumped ships multiple times in the following decade before moving away from F1 completely in 2003.

On the other hand, Jos quickly changed his focus to his son's racing ambitions and trained the young Dutchman extensively. While some have called out his practices with his son, it eventually helped the now-Red Bull driver claim four driver world titles, as Rosato shared how the 53-year-old created a beast on the F1 grid, via the Pitstop podcast:

"Jos [Verstappen] is a pure thug. Don't f**k around with Jos. He's a pure guy. He's an honest guy. It's old school. And what are you going to tell him? You did bad? You created the biggest beast on the face of Formula One... and he made a gentleman.

"He made a great driver but with old work ethics, f**king figure it out. Let's go. You want to be the best? This is what it takes. And then not only that, but not only did he create this giant, but as a person, just genuinely a f**king nice guy."

Max Verstappen won his four drivers' titles with Red Bull from 2021 to 2024, with the possibility of clinching a fifth title fading this year as McLaren is the dominant force on the grid.

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Jos Verstappen calls out the British section of F1 for Max Verstappen's alleged perception in the racing sphere

Jos Verstappen (L) and Max Verstappen (R) at the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of Hungary race weekend - Source: Getty

Max Verstappen has often called out the presence of British bias within F1. Though some have criticized the Dutchman for his claims, his father, Jos Verstappen, was in the same boat.

Asserting how the British section's perception of his son was wrong, Jos claimed, via GPBlog, that it was a misconception that tampered with the 27-year-old's reputation within F1, as he told De Telegraaf (subscription needed):

"I think that a lot of people, maybe especially the British, have a wrong image of him.' That he's an a**hole, or something. Perhaps that's also due to the present time with social media. But I absolutely do not recognize that."

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen has eclipsed his father's F1 career by a long shot, as the Dutchman has won four world titles, including 65 wins and 117 podiums, as compared to Verstappen Sr.'s two podiums.