The toughest victory
2024 concluded with Max Verstappen’s fourth world championship, but the season was far from smooth for Red Bull and the Dutch #1. Contrary to initial positive impressions, the situation deteriorated following updates introduced in Miami by the Milton Keynes team, which had to contend with various difficulties while McLaren grew stronger and eventually became world champions. A competitiveness crisis, coupled with tensions within the team, was also experienced firsthand by 52-year-old Jos Verstappen, Max’s father, who reflected on some moments of the championship in an interview with formule1.nl: “It was certainly an exciting season,” he explained. “It turned out to be a very different year from what was expected at the start, but I had pointed out fairly early that things weren’t heading in the right direction, even in terms of on-track performance. I could sense it coming. There was nothing I could do from the sidelines to change the situation. It was beyond my control, but it was clearly visible to everyone. There were things happening that showed the direction was wrong in terms of performance. Sometimes it was hard not to pick up the phone and call someone. So yes, at times it was definitely difficult to deal with everything. We’ve had better seasons where Max became champion.”
A very tough and complex year, then, with Verstappen still managing to control the situation as best as possible to achieve the goal of becoming champion: “Max had to work harder to get the car where it needed to be; that’s definitely true,” added Jos Verstappen. “On the other hand, the weekends were naturally tougher for him, especially compared to a highly successful year like 2023. Both on and off the track, it was a difficult year. A learning season? Many things clearly went wrong. Was it instructive? Not much for us. Max handled the situation very well. He has good self-control and is very stable in that regard. Moreover, he doesn’t worry much about what’s said or written about him. He hears and sees everything, but it doesn’t affect him. Naturally, he’s constantly asked about all sorts of things and therefore needs to know what’s going on, but I think he always handles it very well. He defends himself effectively and is mentally very strong. I always share my opinion with Max, how I see things, but there’s hardly any need because we pretty much think the same way. He’s not much different from me in terms of mindset. The difference is he’s more organized, calmer, and a bit more balanced.”
Friendship with Lando Norris
In conclusion, Jos Verstappen shared his thoughts on the topic of friendships among drivers, especially at the end of a season like this one, during which his son fought for the world title against Lando Norris. A longtime friend from their karting days, Norris was involved in incidents with Max during the Austrian, US, and Mexican GPs. Despite these events, both drivers have reiterated that their friendship remains intact despite the controversies: “I think it’s more complicated,” Verstappen Sr. concluded regarding the likelihood of this friendship remaining truly unchanged. “Of course, for a long time, the stakes were the world title. Max knows how it is and finds himself in this situation quite easily. He clearly understands the boundary between the relationship on and off the track. He’s very mature in this regard. Looking back at my time in Formula 1, I didn’t have friends, at least not to the extent that I kept in touch with them afterward. I never had any. I chose my friends myself. I get the impression that most of the guys on the grid now get along off the track as well. Most of them have known each other for a long time, from karting. There are about ten guys he’s always karted with. So, they’re a bit closer, but everyone has their own life and does their own thing. Max is simply a sociable guy around the track and behaves kindly and normally with everyone. Back in my day, relationships between drivers were different.”
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