Dutch racing driver (born 1972)
Johannes Franciscus Verstappen
(
pronounced
[?j?s
v?r?st?p?(n)]
; born 4 March 1972) is a Dutch retired
racing driver
who competed in
Formula One
for
Benetton
,
Simtek
,
Footwork Arrows
,
Tyrrell
,
Stewart
, and
Minardi
. Verstappen was the
German Formula Three
champion
[1]
and
Masters of Formula Three
winner in
1993
.
[1]
In Formula 1, Verstappen raced for seven different teams during eight seasons. From 1994 through 2003, he scored two podium finishes in his career, the first Dutch F1 racer to do so.
Since leaving F1, Verstappen won races in
A1 Grand Prix
and
Le Mans Series
LMP2 races, winning the
24 hours of Le Mans' 2008
LMP2 class.
Verstappen has coached his son
Max
from an early age in karting, through to Max's successes as an F1 driver becoming the
2021
,
2022
and
2023
Formula One Drivers' Champion.
[2]
Jos has also served as a manager for Max.
Early career
[
edit
]
Verstappen began
karting
at the age of 8,
[1]
and was participating in national competitions not long after. In 1984 he became Dutch junior champion. He remained successful, and won two European titles.
[1]
At the end of 1991 he made the transition to car racing.
[3]
He drove in Formula Opel Lotus,
[1]
a class in which identical cars compete against each other. He won the European championship in his first year, and got an offer to drive in
Formula Three
with Van Amersfoort Racing, who also developed other drivers such as
Christijan Albers
,
Tom Coronel
and
Bas Leinders
. During that European winter season, he raced in New Zealand Formula Atlantic. Subsequently, in German Formula Three, he won several international competitions, including the 1993
Marlboro Masters
[1]
and the
German Formula 3 championship
.
[1]
Formula One
[
edit
]
1994: Benetton
[
edit
]
Verstappen first drove a
Formula One car
when he tested for the
Footwork Arrows
team alongside
Gil de Ferran
and
Christian Fittipaldi
at the
Estoril
circuit in Portugal. The test took place on 28 September 1993, two days after the
Portuguese Grand Prix
was held at the same circuit. Despite the large increase in power (from a 175 bhp
Formula Three
car to the 750 bhp of Formula One), Verstappen set a time that would have qualified him in the preceding race on his fourth timed lap, and improved his time by more than a second after 65 laps. His best lap time of the day was 1:14.45, which was only 0.07 seconds slower than regular driver
Derek Warwick
had lapped during qualifying, and would have placed him tenth on the grid. He tested again on September 30 and was lapping near his existing record after five laps, but then crashed the car, ending the test early.
[4]
After the test, Verstappen was contacted by every Formula One team except
Ferrari
and
Williams
, and was eventually signed as the
Benetton
team's test driver for the
1994 season
.
[5]
After a crash in pre-season testing by regular driver
JJ Lehto
(who broke a
vertebra
), Verstappen drove in the first two races of the season as a substitute, partnering
Michael Schumacher
and made his Formula One debut at the
1994 Brazilian Grand Prix
.
[1]
During the race he collided with
Eddie Irvine
, which triggered a multiple accident also involving
Eric Bernard
and
Martin Brundle
. Verstappen's car somersaulted, but he emerged unharmed.
[1]
At the
Pacific Grand Prix
Verstappen ran 6th but spun off on cold tyres immediately after a pit stop.
[1]
Lehto was fit for the next race at
Imola
, but his performances in subsequent races were disappointing and he was rested by Benetton following the
Canadian Grand Prix
, allowing Verstappen to return to the race seat.
[1]
One of the most dramatic incidents affected Verstappen at the
German Grand Prix
. During his first scheduled pitstop during the race, fuel leaked onto the car after the fuel hose was disconnected. The car, with Verstappen in it, was engulfed in flames for several seconds. As was usual at the time, Verstappen had slightly opened the
visor
of his helmet for the pit stop, but apart from slight burns to his nose, he was uninjured. After this incident the fuel delivery hose was modified to incorporate a fail-safe cut-out system.
[6]
A high point in this season was Verstappen's third place during the next Grand Prix in
Hungary
, Schumacher having allowed Verstappen to unlap himself on the final lap to pass
Martin Brundle
's stricken
McLaren
-Peugeot. He took another third place at the
Belgian Grand Prix
due to Schumacher's post-race disqualification from victory, and a fifth place at the
Portuguese Grand Prix
. A curiosity was his accident during a practice session for the
French Grand Prix
at
Magny-Cours
, in which Verstappen rammed his car into the
pit
wall causing debris to fly up and destroy a TV installation. Due to this accident, this equipment is now protected from the race track by
acrylic glass
.
[7]
For the last two races of the season, Verstappen was replaced by the more experienced
Johnny Herbert
in a bid to win the Constructors' Championship for Benetton. Although the team was unsuccessful in this aim, losing out to the rival
Williams
team,
[8]
Herbert was signed for the 1995 season instead of Verstappen.
[1]
1995: Simtek
[
edit
]
In
1995
he was loaned to
Simtek
[1]
by Benetton team principal
Flavio Briatore
. Despite some strong showings (including running 6th at the
Argentine Grand Prix
before a poor pit stop and subsequent gearbox failure) Verstappen only finished once in the five races he drove for the team due to technical difficulties. The team had deep financial troubles and went bankrupt after the
Monaco Grand Prix
.
[1]
Out of a race drive, Verstappen did some test driving with Benetton and
Ligier
[9]
(then part-owned by Briatore and
Tom Walkinshaw
).
[10]
Briatore decided against taking up his option for Verstappen in 1996, signing
Jean Alesi
and
Gerhard Berger
to drive instead.
[10]
In
1996
he drove for the
Footwork
team.
[1]
He ran fifth at
Interlagos
before retiring, and finished sixth in
Buenos Aires
.
[1]
Shortly after, the team was taken over by Walkinshaw's
TWR
organisation.
[1]
During the
Belgian Grand Prix
a part of the
suspension
of Verstappen's car broke off, causing him to crash heavily.
[1]
He ended up with a prolonged neck injury.
[9]
Initially Verstappen featured strongly in Walkinshaw's plans for 1997 (the new owner at one point threatening to replace him with a pay driver unless he signed for another season)
[11]
but the surprise availability of
Damon Hill
(soon to be crowned World Champion) saw him dropped instead.
[1]
His form in the second half of the season dropped off as development on the 1996 car ground to a standstill, TWR Arrows focusing instead on 1997.
[1]
1997: Tyrrell
[
edit
]
In
1997
he went to the
Tyrrell
team
[1]
but did not score any points, though he briefly ran fifth in the
Canadian Grand Prix
.
[1]
The team suffered from an underpowered
Ford
Cosworth
EDV V8 engine and a lack of funding leaving Verstappen and teammate
Mika Salo
struggling towards the rear of the field.
[1]
Verstappen's best result for the team was eighth at the wet
Monaco Grand Prix
.
[1]
Before the 1998 season Tyrrell were sold to
British American Tobacco
,
[1]
who intended to rebrand the team as
British American Racing
in 1999 after one final season under the Tyrrell banner.
Ken Tyrrell
wanted to retain Verstappen alongside
Toranosuke Takagi
but BAR insisted on taking pay driver
Ricardo Rosset
alongside the young Japanese driver.
[1]
Tyrrell himself left the team in disgust over the matter, leaving Dr.
Harvey Postlethwaite
to run the team.
[1]
1998: Stewart
[
edit
]
Out of a regular drive for 1998, Verstappen tested for Benetton once again early in the year,
[1]
but the team would not hire him as a permanent test driver for lack of
sponsors
. As an experienced, fast free agent Verstappen was a common name mentioned in pit lane gossip as a replacement for underperforming drivers. He would eventually return to the series at the
French Grand Prix
, replacing
Jan Magnussen
at
Stewart
.
[1]
However, the car was uncompetitive, the team struggled to run two cars to the same level and Verstappen did not perform significantly better than his predecessor.
Johnny Herbert
was signed to partner
Rubens Barrichello
for
1999
[1]
and Verstappen was left casting around for a drive again.
[1]
1999: Honda
[
edit
]
However, for once it looked like things were going in the right direction for Verstappen. Near the end of 1998 he became the test driver for the
Honda Formula One
project.
[1]
He teamed up with old Tyrrell friends Rupert Manwaring and Harvey Postlethwaite, planning to test the new car in 1999 and join the series in 2000. All went well for the operation, with the testing hack showing well against upper-midfield teams such as Benetton and Williams in various test sessions until Postlethwaite died of a heart attack. Not long after, Honda changed their plans from becoming a team to a works engine supplier and Verstappen was again without a Formula One seat. He tested for the
Jordan
team in case Damon Hill decided to retire before the end of the season
[1]
but this came to nothing when Verstappen's testing performance was underwhelming and Hill resolved to see out the season.
[1]
2000?2001: Return to Arrows
[
edit
]
In
2000
he returned to
Arrows
,
[1]
who had put together a package including
Supertec
engines, a chassis with good straight-line speed and a bevy of sponsors. The car proved to be unreliable,
[1]
but its speed allowed Verstappen and teammate
Pedro de la Rosa
to dice with the front runners at several circuits. The design's small fuel tank meant the cars were often lighter than their rivals. In his second race back at
Interlagos
he ran 6th before spinning due to a sore neck brought on by his lack of recent seat time. In the wet/dry
Canadian Grand Prix
,
[1]
he drove superbly in the later stages to move into 5th position
[1]
and score his first points since 1996.
[12]
After the first corner accidents in
Austria
de la Rosa and Verstappen ran 4th and 5th but mechanical problems sidelined them both.
[13]
Verstappen would score only once again, a strong 4th place at
Monza
.
[14]
For 2001 he was retained by Arrows.
[15]
The Supertec engines were replaced by
Asiatech
units and de la Rosa was dropped on the eve of the season in favour of the
Red Bull
-backed
Enrique Bernoldi
.
[15]
The package was more reliable but less competitive and Verstappen was hurt on occasion by indifferent qualifying form (often lining up behind his rookie teammate on the grid).
[16]
Highlights of the season included running 2nd at
Sepang
having started 18th, making a superb start and running well in changing conditions before dropping to 7th and later scoring the team's only point of the year for 6th at the
A1-Ring
.
[15]
At
Interlagos
, he ran into the back of leader
Juan Pablo Montoya
just after being lapped
[17]
while at
Montreal
, he moved into the top six but retired with brake failure.
[18]
He re-signed to drive for Arrows in 2002, but was dropped at the eleventh hour in favour of
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
.
[15]
Later that year he almost signed a test contract with
Sauber
but he turned out to be physically too large for the
car
, which was smaller than its predecessor.
[19]
2003: Minardi
[
edit
]
He returned to the cockpit in 2003 with
Paul Stoddart
's European
Minardi
team, considered the tail enders of the grid. With limited funds and underpowered engines it was a difficult season with little opportunity to shine. His best result was 9th at the
Canadian Grand Prix
, one place away from a point under the new scoring system. At the
Brazilian Grand Prix
, he had been running ahead of eventual winner
Giancarlo Fisichella
on the same strategy only to spin off on standing water, but generally the year was one to forget ? and many noted that Verstappen was largely outperformed by rookie teammate
Justin Wilson
. At the end of the year he left the Italian team because he did not feel like driving in the rear-guard for another year.
[20]
Out of a drive for 2004 Verstappen was considered as a replacement for
Giorgio Pantano
at
Jordan
partway through the season but was unable to fit in the car
[21]
and began looking for drives outside Formula One for the following season.
[22]
Verstappen participated in 107 Grands Prix.
[23]
He achieved two podium places,
[23]
and scored a total of 17 championship points
[23]
(117 in the modern system) which makes him the second best performing Dutch driver in Formula One to date, beaten only by his son,
Max
. Jos Verstappen's highest qualifying position was 6th, at the
1994 Belgian Grand Prix
.
[23]
A1 Grand Prix
[
edit
]
After two years of not participating in races, Verstappen was confirmed in July as driver of the
A1 Team Netherlands
[24]
managed by seatholder
Jan Lammers
's
Racing for Holland
, for the
A1 Grand Prix series
. They won the feature race at Durban.
[24]
On 27 September 2006, Verstappen split with A1 Team Netherlands after failing to secure payment guarantees.
[25]
This resulted from Verstappen only being paid for the 2005/06 season a few weeks before the next season started.
[26]
He was replaced by
Jeroen Bleekemolen
for the first race of the 2006/07 season at the team's home race at
Zandvoort
.
[27]
Le Mans Series
[
edit
]
In December 2007, Verstappen announced that he would take part in the
2008 24 Hours of Le Mans
race, as well as enter the 1,000 kilometre races in the
Le Mans Series
.
[28]
Driving a
LMP2
-class
Porsche RS Spyder
fielded by
Van Merksteijn Motorsport
, Verstappen was partnered by team owner
Peter van Merksteijn Sr.
Jeroen Bleekemolen
also joined the team for the
24 Hours of Le Mans
race.
[28]
After winning the
1000km Catalunya
and
1000km Spa
, and finishing second in the
1000km Monza
, Jos Verstappen won the LMP2 class of the
2008 24 Hours of Le Mans
. With his victory at the
1000km Nurburgring
, Verstappen clinched the LMP2 Drivers' title and
Van Merksteijn Motorsport
won the LMP2 Manufacturers' title.
[29]
Verstappen participated in the
2009 24 Hours of Le Mans
in a
Lola
-
Aston Martin
.
[30]
Personal life
[
edit
]
In 1996,
[31]
Verstappen married
Belgian
ex-kart driver champion
[32]
Sophie Kumpen, whose cousin is
NASCAR
Whelen Euro Series
racing driver
Anthony Kumpen
, and whose uncle is former
motocross
and
GT
endurance
rally
driver Paul Kumpen. Verstappen and Sophie have two children,
Max
(b. 1997) and Victoria (b. 1999). He has a second daughter, Blue Jaye (b. 2014), with his second wife Kelly van der Waal. He also has a second son, Jason Jaxx (b. 2019) and third daughter Mila Faye (b. 2020), with his third wife Sandy Sijtsma. Both Max and Victoria have gone on to become racing drivers, with Max becoming a three-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, in
2021
,
2022
and
2023
.
[33]
Verstappen speaks Dutch, English and German.
Controversy
[
edit
]
After a 1998 incident at a karting track in which a man suffered a fractured skull, Verstappen and his father, Frans, were found guilty in court of
assault
but were each given a five-year suspended jail sentence after reaching an
out-of-court settlement
with the victim.
[34]
In December 2008, with the couple effectively separated, Verstappen appeared in court in
Tongeren
,
Belgium
, charged with
assaulting
his wife, Sophie Kumpen.
[35]
He was found not guilty of assault, but guilty of threatening Kumpen in text messages and of violating a previously issued
restraining order
. He was fined and sentenced to three months
probational
, suspended prison sentence.
[36]
On 29 November 2011, the media reported allegations that Verstappen had assaulted his ex-girlfriend; Verstappen claimed to only have had a discussion with her.
[37]
In January 2012, he was arrested on attempted murder charges following accusations that he drove a car into his ex-girlfriend in
Roermond
,
[38]
but released two weeks later after the charge was withdrawn.
[39]
Verstappen and his ex-girlfriend, Kelly van der Waal, got back together and were married in 2014. They have one daughter, Blue Jaye, born in September 2014.
[40]
They divorced on 2 June 2017.
[41]
Racing record
[
edit
]
Career summary
[
edit
]
†
Verstappen was the test driver for the aborted Honda F1 project.
Complete German Formula Three results
[
edit
]
(
key
) (Races in
bold
indicate pole position) (Races in
italics
indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula One results
[
edit
]
(
key
) (Races in
bold
indicate pole position) (Races in
italics
indicate fastest lap)
†
Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Complete A1 Grand Prix results
[
edit
]
(Races in
bold
indicate pole position) (Races in
italics
indicate fastest lap)
Complete Le Mans Series results
[
edit
]
(
key
) (Races in
bold
indicate pole position; races in
italics
indicate fastest lap)
24 Hours of Le Mans results
[
edit
]
WRC results
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
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d
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p
q
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u
v
w
x
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aa
ab
ac
ad
ae
af
ag
ah
ai
aj
ak
al
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Archived
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.
www.formula1.com
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Archived
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Hallbery, Andrew (2009-12-03).
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.
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"From The Archive: Jos Verstappen, debut F1 test, Estoril, September 28, 1993".
Autosport
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(10): 93. 2009-12-03.
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Refuelling to stay in F1
Archived
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. grandprix.com. 2002-07-29.
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. gpupdate.net.
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.
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"
Mama's Invloed On Max Verstappen
Archived
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Wayback Machine
" ("Mama's Influence on Max Verstappen") by Mark van den Heuvel,
HP/De Tijd
, 12 September 2015 (in
Dutch
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.
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.
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.
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Archived
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.
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Archived
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.
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.
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.
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Jos Verstappen is weer vader geworden
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.
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.
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- ^
"Jos Verstappen ? 2005 A1 Grand Prix Results"
. Racing-Reference.
Archived
from the original on 14 September 2021
. Retrieved
14 September
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"Jos Verstappen Results"
. Motorsport Stats
. Retrieved
20 January
2024
.
- ^
"Complete Archive of Jos Verstappen"
. Racing Sports Cars.
Archived
from the original on 14 September 2021
. Retrieved
14 September
2021
.
- ^
"Jos Verstappen"
.
eWRC-results.com
. Retrieved
20 January
2024
.
External links
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