"I do everything I can": When Max Verstappen's father, Jos, was asked what he would do if his son wanted to be an F1 driver

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen's father, Jos Verstappen, previously claimed that he would "do his best" to help his son if he wanted to venture into F1. The young Dutchman has cemented his place in the sport's history as he has become one of its most decorated world champions.

The 27-year-old was a racing prodigy and had one of the most successful karting careers in history. He did not waste any time in making an impression on the top teams, as both Red Bull and Mercedes were vying for his signature after his debut year in F3 in 2014.

Max Verstappen inherited his racing genes from his parents, Jos Verstappen and Sophie Kumpen, who both competed in motorsports. While Kumpen was a renowned karter, Verstappen raced in F1 for a decade from 1994 to 2003. The 53-year-old raced alongside and later became close friends with seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher.

In a clip floating on social media, Schumacher and Verstappen were asked about the prospects of both their sons following in their footsteps to become F1 drivers. Although initially both resisted the idea, Jos Verstappen replied later in the interview:

"For me, if he really wants to. I mean, Formula One was very far away, and you never know what happens after 15 years, but if I really will help him with whatever he wants to play. If he wants to play football, I do everything I can to get the best team or whatever, and it's the same in go-kart or tennis or whatever,"

Coincidentally, both Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher's son, Mick, did have some battles in F1 during the latter's two-year stint in the sport.

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Michael Schumacher's close aide defends Max Verstappen's father for his parenting style

Michael Schumacher's close aide, Gino Rosato, stated that Max Verstappen's father, Jos Verstappen, comes from a different school of parenting and believed that the latter was a "pure" and "honest" guy.

While appearing on the PitStop podcast, the former Ferrari man said:

"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 gonna tell him? ‘You did bad?' He created the biggest beast on the face of Formula 1, or one of them, for sure. You put s**t in the garden, the flowers grow, and he made a gentleman."

"He made a great driver. But with old work ethics. Jos, he would leave Max sometimes on the race track, racing and all that, and I think this is what this world has lost a little now. [He would say] 'F**king figure it out. Let’s go. You want to be the best? This is what it takes.'"

Jos Verstappen is known in the F1 folklore to have been hard on his son Max Verstappen during his growing-up years.