Max Verstappen's Father Defends Himself Over Abuse Claims: "I Was Hard On Him, That Was My Plan"
Jos Verstappen has come under fire many times for the strict way he brought his son, Max Verstappen, up in the racing world.
The two-time champion's father spoke in the recent documentary about the Red Bull driver, defending his "hard" parenting.
Speaking about the documentary, Verstappen explains that he wouldn't usually open up about his personal life but that he wanted the opportunity to give more people an insight into him. He explained:
“I’m normally not a guy who really likes to open up about these kinds of things, but I think it does give you a bit more of an insight into how everyone lived through that period."
Jos Verstappen took the moment to share his side of the story and defend himself over the controversial parenting tactics. He said:
“There are people who say I’m a bad father because I abused my child. I never abused him!
“I raised him, I was hard on him. That was my plan.
“Many people cannot imagine what it takes to reach the absolute top level of a sport."
Some of the stories that have come under fire the most were that Jos made Max stay out training in the freezing cold rain whilst the other drivers stopped, and when he left Max at a petrol station when he did not win a race.
AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost has also spoken about the abuse claims, saying that his harsh upbringing gave him "everything a champion needs". He said to Sport1:
“That started with his parents, who both raced and put Max into karts at an early age.
“His father Jos prepared every detail for Max, but Max then had to implement it. He has everything a champion needs now.
“Just like Fangio, Senna, Prost, Schumacher, Vettel or Hamilton, they are all made the same way – in addition to super talent, they have a total focus on their sport and the selfishness to assert themselves.
“This also includes annoying your team. You can forget about a driver who never complains.”