Definitely not the best way to approach it Spanish Grand Prix of F1 for Max Verstappen. Big scare for the 3-time world champion due to the bad accident involving his father Jos Verstappen in a rally race in Belgium. The Dutch former Formula 1 driver lost control of his car and crashed at high speed, ending up off the road. Luckily there were no serious consequences for him who emerged unscathed from the crash like his co-driver Renaud Jamoul.
Rally: bad accident for Jos Verstappen, Max anxious
Accident without consequences for Jos Verstappen, father of the reigning F1 champion, during the ‘Ardeca Ypres Rally’ underway in Belgium. During the ninth special test the former F1 driver, who raced among others with Benetton (together with Michael Schumacher) and in Minardi, crashed into a tree at high speed. His Skoda Fabia was damaged, but no problems for him and his navigator Renaud.
Watch the video of Jos Verstappen’s accident in the rally in Belgium
During the special number 9, the 13.72 kilometer Kemmelberg 1, Verstappen he went off the road while taking a right bend, hitting some trees on the outside of the bend and crashing into the center of the road with extensive damage to the Skoda Fabia. In the Instagram post in the first image there is Jos Verstappen’s destroyed car, by “shaking” you can see the video of Jos’ father’s accident. The event, valid for the Belgian national rally championship, was won by Stephane Lefebvre in the Hyundai i20 Rally2.
Who “was” Jos Verstappen: his F1 career, Schumacher and the fire at Hockenheim ’94
Perhaps he incubated the genes of the phenomenon, they were latent, and he passed them all on to his son Max. Born in 1972 Jos Verstappen was an F1 driver in the decade between the 90s and 2000s. In ’94 I joined Benetton as third pilot and test driver. He alternated with the titular driver JJ Letho until taking his place. But you know how to be teammates Michael Schumacher it wasn’t easy. Despite his good talent, Jos struggled to drive a single-seater based on Schumi’s driving style.
He didn’t manage to go beyond a few placings. Then there was the iconic episode of the fire in the pits during the pit stop of the German Grand Prix in Hockenheim with his Benetton engulfed in flames due to a petrol spill, at the time there were still supplies. He escaped with some burns but came back stronger, taking two podiums, the first and only of his F1 career, in Belgium and Hungary.
Flavio Briatore preferred him for ’95, Johnny Herbert and for Jos Verstappen a pilgrimage to the various smaller teams and teams began: Simtek, Footwork, Tyrrel, Stewartthen the return after a year, in 2000, with Arrows finally also an experience with Minardi collecting sporadic points finishes (at the time only for the top 6) and never getting on the podium again.
Since 2004 he has continued to race in other categories, dedicating himself to raising his son Max. In 2010 he attempted a return to Formula 1 offering his experience to the debuting teams but the 7 years away from the top flight did not allow him to find a seat as a starter or even as a test driver.
F1, Spanish GP: the guide with times and TV programming
