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Max Verstappen's father, Jos Verstappen, recently said that he dreamed of the kind of success his son is enjoying right now when Max began racing. Jos Verstappen was himself an F1 driver and was Michael Schumacher's teammate at Benetton in 1994.
Since his first title win in 2021 in Abu Dhabi against Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen has taken things up a notch. With a Red Bull challenger that is far superior to the competition, the driver has been excellent in 2022 and 2023. He won the title virtually unchallenged in 2022 and has done the same again this year.
Max Verstappen broke Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel's record (13 each) for the most wins in a season in 2022, only to better it in 2023 by winning 19 races. When asked if he ever expected this kind of success from his son, Jos Verstappen told PlanetF1:
“I dreamed of this, of course, but to achieve what he’s doing at the moment, his level, it’s very impressive. I know he was good from the beginning onwards, but he’s exceeded that. I think the cars are more level [nowadays]."
He added:
"I mean, when you see the McLaren when Senna was driving that won 15 out of 16 races, I think they were one second faster than anybody else at the time. Now, of course, we are fast, but Ferrari, maybe sometimes McLaren, they are there as well. I think, to achieve what he does, on that level – because everything is about details to make it happen – I mean, he has to be focused every time again.”
Max Verstappen's father wants to see more competition at the front in 2024
Jos Verstappen was asked if 2024 was going to see a repeat of Max Verstappen's dominance on the grid. Stating his wish for more competition next year, Jos said:
“He has faith in the team and what they come up with. I would like to have more competition. Of course, we want to win the races but I also like him fighting and then running away with a win, or maybe just not."
The former F1 driver added:
"I think everybody wants to see that. I’m a fan of the sport, I’m a fan of Formula 1. Of course, it’s nice to win 18 or 19 races in the season. But, to win the championship as he did in 2021, I also enjoyed it after all so… why not?”
It will be interesting to see how the 2024 season unfolds as most fans, like Jos Verstappen, will be hoping for a more closely contested battle for the world championship.
