Jos Verstappen

Jos Verstappen

Verstappen in 2006
Born	Johannes Franciscus Verstappen (1972-03-04)4 March 1972 Montfort,Netherlands
Formula OneWorld Championship career
Nationality	Dutch
Active years	1994–1998,2000–2001,2003
Teams	Benetton,Simtek,Footwork,Tyrrell,Stewart,ArrowsandMinardi
Entries	107 (106 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	2
Career points	17
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1994 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last entry	2003 Japanese Grand Prix

24 Hours of Le Manscareer
Years	2008–2009
Teams	Van Merksteijn Motorsport,Aston Martin Racing
Best finish	10th(2008)
Class wins	1(2008)

Johannes Franciscus Verstappen(pronounced[ˈjɔsvɛrˈstɑpə(n)];born 4 March 1972) is a Dutchracing driverwho competed inFormula OneforBenetton,Simtek,Footwork Arrows,Tyrrell,Stewart,andMinardi.Verstappen was theGerman Formula ThreechampionandMasters of Formula Threewinner in1993.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 inA1 Grand PrixandLe Mans SeriesLMP2 races, winning the24 hours of Le Mans' 2008LMP2 class.

Verstappen has coached his sonMaxfrom an early age in karting, through to Max's successes as an F1 driver and becoming a Formula One Drivers' Champion.Jos has also served as a manager for Max.

Early career

Verstappen begankartingat the age of 8,and was participating in national competitions not long after. In 1984 he became Dutch junior champion. He remained successful, and won two European titles.

At the end of 1991 he made the transition to car racing.He drove in Formula Opel Lotus,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 inFormula Threewith Van Amersfoort Racing, who also developed other drivers such asChristijan Albers,Tom CoronelandBas 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 1993Marlboro Mastersand theGerman Formula 3 championship.

Formula One

1994: Benetton

Verstappen first drove aFormula One carwhen he tested for theFootwork Arrowsteam alongsideGil de FerranandChristian Fittipaldiat theEstorilcircuit in Portugal. The test took place on 28 September 1993, two days after thePortuguese Grand Prixwas held at the same circuit. Despite the large increase in power (from a 175 bhpFormula Threecar 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 driverDerek Warwickhad 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.

After the test, Verstappen was contacted by every Formula One team exceptFerrariandWilliams,and was eventually signed as theBenettonteam's test driver for the1994 season.

After a crash in pre-season testing by regular driverJJ Lehto(who broke avertebra), Verstappen drove in the first two races of the season as a substitute, partneringMichael Schumacherand made his Formula One debut at the1994 Brazilian Grand Prix.During the race he collided withEddie Irvine,which triggered a multiple accident also involvingÉric BernardandMartin Brundle.Verstappen's car somersaulted, but he emerged unharmed.At thePacific Grand PrixVerstappen ran 6th but spun off on cold tyres immediately after a pit stop.Lehto was fit for the next race atImola,but his performances in subsequent races were disappointing and he was rested by Benetton following theCanadian Grand Prix,allowing Verstappen to return to the race seat.

One of the most dramatic incidents affected Verstappen at theGerman 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 thevisorof 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.

Verstappen driving theBenetton B194at the1994 British Grand Prix.

A high point in this season was Verstappen's third place during the next Grand Prix inHungary,Schumacher having allowed Verstappen to unlap himself on the final lap to passMartin Brundle's strickenMcLaren-Peugeot. He took another third place at theBelgian Grand Prixdue to Schumacher's post-race disqualification from victory, and a fifth place at thePortuguese Grand Prix.A curiosity was his accident during a practice session for theFrench Grand PrixatMagny-Cours,in which Verstappen rammed his car into thepitwall causing debris to fly up and destroy a TV installation. Due to this accident, this equipment is now protected from the race track byacrylic glass.

For the last two races of the season, Verstappen was replaced by the more experiencedJohnny Herbertin a bid to win the Constructors' Championship for Benetton. Although the team was unsuccessful in this aim, losing out to the rivalWilliamsteam,Herbert was signed for the 1995 season instead of Verstappen.

1995: Simtek

In1995he was loaned toSimtekby Benetton team principalFlavio Briatore.Despite some strong showings (including running 6th at theArgentine Grand Prixbefore 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 theMonaco Grand Prix.Out of a race drive, Verstappen did some test driving with Benetton andLigier(then part-owned by Briatore andTom Walkinshaw).Briatore decided against taking up his option for Verstappen in 1996, signingJean AlesiandGerhard Bergerto drive instead.

1996: Footwork Arrows

In1996he drove for theFootworkteam.He ran fifth atInterlagosbefore retiring, and finished sixth inBuenos Aires.Shortly after, the team was taken over by Walkinshaw'sTWRorganisation.During theBelgian Grand Prixa part of thesuspensionof Verstappen's car broke off, causing him to crash heavily.He ended up with a prolonged neck injury.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)but the surprise availability ofDamon Hill(soon to be crowned World Champion) saw him dropped instead.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.

1997: Tyrrell

In1997he went to theTyrrellteambut did not score any points, though he briefly ran fifth in theCanadian Grand Prix.The team suffered from an underpoweredFordCosworthEDV V8 engine and a lack of funding leaving Verstappen and teammateMika Salostruggling towards the rear of the field.Verstappen's best result for the team was eighth at the wetMonaco Grand Prix.Before the 1998 season Tyrrell were sold toBritish American Tobacco,who intended to rebrand the team asBritish American Racingin 1999 after one final season under the Tyrrell banner.Ken Tyrrellwanted to retain Verstappen alongsideToranosuke Takagibut BAR insisted on taking pay driverRicardo Rossetalongside the young Japanese driver.Tyrrell himself left the team in disgust over the matter, leaving Dr.Harvey Postlethwaiteto run the team.

1998: Stewart

Verstappen's 1998Stewart SF02,which he drove for theStewart Grand Prixteam

Out of a regular drive for 1998, Verstappen tested for Benetton once again early in the year,but the team would not hire him as a permanent test driver for lack ofsponsors.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 theFrench Grand Prix,replacingJan MagnussenatStewart.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 Herbertwas signed to partnerRubens Barrichellofor1999and Verstappen was left casting around for a drive again.

1999: Honda

AHonda RA099which Verstappen test drove.

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 theHonda Formula Oneproject.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 theJordanteam in case Damon Hill decided to retire before the end of the seasonbut this came to nothing when Verstappen's testing performance was underwhelming and Hill resolved to see out the season.

2000–2001: Return to Arrows

Verstappen testing for theArrowsteam at theMonzacircuit in 2000.

In2000he returned toArrows,who had put together a package includingSupertecengines, a chassis with good straight-line speed and a bevy of sponsors. The car proved to be unreliable,but its speed allowed Verstappen and teammatePedro de la Rosato 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 atInterlagoshe ran 6th before spinning due to a sore neck brought on by his lack of recent seat time. In the wet/dryCanadian Grand Prix,he drove superbly in the later stages to move into 5th positionand score his first points since 1996.After the first corner accidents inAustriade la Rosa and Verstappen ran 4th and 5th but mechanical problems sidelined them both.Verstappen would score only once again, a strong 4th place atMonza.

For 2001 he was retained by Arrows.The Supertec engines were replaced byAsiatechunits and de la Rosa was dropped on the eve of the season in favour of theRed Bull-backedEnrique Bernoldi.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).Highlights of the season included running 2nd atSepanghaving 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 theA1-Ring.AtInterlagos,he ran into the back of leaderJuan Pablo Montoyajust after being lappedwhile atMontreal,he moved into the top six but retired with brake failure.

He re-signed to drive for Arrows in 2002, but was dropped at the eleventh hour in favour ofHeinz-Harald Frentzen.Later that year he almost signed a test contract withSauberbut he turned out to be physically too large for thecar,which was smaller than its predecessor.

2003: Minardi

Verstappen driving forMinardiat the2003 British Grand Prix

He returned to the cockpit in 2003 withPaul Stoddart's EuropeanMinarditeam, 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 theCanadian Grand Prix,one place away from a point under the new scoring system. At theBrazilian Grand Prix,he had been running ahead of eventual winnerGiancarlo Fisichellaon 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 teammateJustin 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.

Out of a drive for 2004 Verstappen was considered as a replacement forGiorgio PantanoatJordanpartway through the season but was unable to fit in the carand began looking for drives outside Formula One for the following season.

Verstappen participated in 107 Grands Prix.He achieved two podium places,and scored a total of 17 championship points(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 the1994 Belgian Grand Prix.

A1 Grand Prix

Verstappen driving forA1 Team Netherlandsat theA1 Grand PrixinDurban,2006

After two years of not participating in races, Verstappen was confirmed in July as driver of theA1 Team Netherlandsmanaged by seatholderJan Lammers'sRacing for Holland,for theA1 Grand Prix series.They won the feature race at Durban.

On 27 September 2006, Verstappen split with A1 Team Netherlands after failing to secure payment guarantees.This resulted from Verstappen only being paid for the 2005/06 season a few weeks before the next season started.He was replaced byJeroen Bleekemolenfor the first race of the 2006/07 season at the team's home race atZandvoort.

Le Mans Series

Verstappen driving forVan Merksteijn Motorsportat the2008 1000km of Silverstone,in which he and teammatePeter van Merksteijn Sr.won the LMP2 class.

In December 2007, Verstappen announced that he would take part in the2008 24 Hours of Le Mansrace, as well as enter the 1,000 kilometre races in theLe Mans Series.Driving aLMP2-classPorsche RS Spyderfielded byVan Merksteijn Motorsport,Verstappen was partnered by team ownerPeter van Merksteijn Sr.Jeroen Bleekemolenalso joined the team for the24 Hours of Le Mansrace.

After winning the1000km Catalunyaand1000km Spa,and finishing second in the1000km Monza,Jos Verstappen won the LMP2 class of the2008 24 Hours of Le Mans.With his victory at the1000km Nurburgring,Verstappen clinched the LMP2 Drivers' title andVan Merksteijn Motorsportwon the LMP2 Manufacturers' title.

Verstappen participated in the2009 24 Hours of Le Mansin aLola-Aston Martin.

Personal life

Verstappen in 2014

In 1996,Verstappen marriedBelgianex-kart driver championSophie Kumpen, whose cousin isNASCARWhelen Euro Seriesracing driverAnthony Kumpen,and whose uncle is formermotocrossandGTendurancerallydriver 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, in2021,2022and2023.

Verstappen speaks Dutch, English and German.

Controversy

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 ofassaultbut were each given a five-year suspended jail sentence after reaching anout-of-court settlementwith the victim.

In December 2008, with the couple effectively separated, Verstappen appeared in court inTongeren,Belgium,charged withassaultinghis ex-wife, Sophie Kumpen.He was found not guilty of assault, but guilty of threatening Kumpen in text messages and of violating a previously issuedrestraining order.He was fined and sentenced to three monthsprobational,suspended prison sentence.

In January 2009, Verstappen again had to appear in court and was convicted to a three months suspended prison sentence and a 1650 Euro fine for sending his ex-wife threatening text messages and visiting her house despite a restraining order.

On 29 November 2011, the media reported allegations that Verstappen had assaulted an unnamed 24 year old girlfriend in a hotel room in the Dutch city ofVenlo;Verstappen claimed to only have had a discussion with her.In January 2012, he was arrested on attempted murder charges following accusations that he drove a car into his ex-girlfriend inRoermond- who was taken by ambulance to hospital with heavy bruises and abrasions. Verstappen was previously accused of beating his girlfriend."It's definitely not the first time he does this," the unnamed woman told RTL television. "I think now I need to go and hide -- I don't know what to expect now when he is released."but released two weeks later after the charge was withdrawn.Verstappen was also accused of destroying two cell phones, jewellery and the handbag of his girlfriend, and he faced two weeks of imprisonment and 20 hours of community work service. Verstappen’s lawyer Geert Jan Knoops said his client was relieved and he hopes this will be the definitive end of the court case. According to Dutch sources, Verstappen and his girlfriend are back together again. Him 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.They divorced on 2 June 2017.

On 28 July, 2016, it was reported that Verstappen physically attacked his own father, Dutchman Frans Verstappen in his hometown of Montford. According to the official report, it happened shortly after the2016 Hungarian Grand PrixDe Telegraaf, a large Dutch media group, said Frans Verstappen filed a complaint with the police. “We’ve seen before that Jos has loose hands but this was the limit,” Frans, showing multiple wounds and bruises on his body and head, is quoted as saying. “Jos is very bad tempered.” Manager Raymond Vermeulen said the incident was a “private matter”. Later, Limburg broadcaster L1 reported that Frans had withdrawn the complaint, with him stating, “It’s just a private matter between myself and Jos. I want to keep it between ourselves.”

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
1992	Formula Opel Lotus Benelux		9	8	?	?	?	160	1st
	Formula Opel Lotus Euroseries	Van Amersfoort Racing	7	2	2	2	2	59	7th
	EFDA Nations Cup	Team Netherlands	1	1	?	?	1	N/A	1st
	Formula Opel Lotus Netherlands		1	0	0	?	1	N/A	NC
1993	German Formula Three	Opel Team WTS	20	8	6	9	14	269	1st
	Formula Pacific		10	3	?	?	6	185	4th
	Masters of Formula 3	Opel Team WTS	1	1	1	0	1	N/A	1st
1994	Formula One	Mild SevenBenetton Ford	10	0	0	0	2	10	10th
			Test driver
1995	Formula One	MTVSimtek Ford	4	0	0	0	0	0	NC
		Mild SevenBenetton Renault	Test driver
1996	Formula One	Footwork Hart	16	0	0	0	0	1	16th
1997	Formula One	PIAA Tyrrell Ford	17	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1998	Formula One	HSBC Stewart Ford	9	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1999	Formula One	Honda	Test driver†
2000	Formula One	Arrows F1 Team	17	0	0	0	0	5	12th
2001	Formula One	OrangeArrowsAsiatech	17	0	0	0	0	1	18th
2003	Formula One	EuropeanMinardi Cosworth	17	0	0	0	0	0	22nd
		TrustMinardi Cosworth
2005–06	A1 Grand Prix	A1 Team Netherlands	22	1	0	2	2	69	7th
2008	Le Mans Series – LMP2	Van Merksteijn Motorsport	5	4	5	1	5	48	1st
	24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP2		1	1	0	0	1	N/A	1st
2009	24 Hours of Le Mans – LMP1	Aston Martin Racing	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	11th
2012	2012 City Challenge Baku - Sprint Races	V4O	1	0	0	0	0	0	N/A
	2012 City Challenge Baku GT		1	0	0	0	0	0	7th
2022	World Rally Championship	Jos Verstappen	1	0	N/A	N/A	0	0	NC
Source:

^†Verstappen was the test driver for the aborted Honda F1 project.

Complete German Formula Three results

(key) (Races inboldindicate pole position) (Races initalicsindicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Pts
1993	Opel Team WTS	Opel	ZOL 1 3	ZOL 2 Ret	HOC 1 5	HOC 2 4	NÜR 1 2	NÜR 2 2	WUN 1 1	WUN 2 1	NOR 1 1	NOR 2 1	DIE 1 2	DIE 2 Ret	NÜR 1 2	NÜR 2 1	SIN 1 2	SIN 2 1	AVU 1 1	AVU 2 1	HOC 1 7	HOC 2 11	1st	269
Sources:

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races inboldindicate pole position) (Races initalicsindicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Points
1994	Mild SevenBenetton Ford	BenettonB194	FordV8	BRA Ret	PAC Ret	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA Ret	GBR 8	GER Ret	HUN 3	BEL 3	ITA Ret	POR 5	EUR Ret	JPN	AUS		10th	10
1995	MTVSimtek Ford	SimtekS951	FordV8	BRA Ret	ARG Ret	SMR Ret	ESP 12	MON DNS	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	PAC	JPN	AUS	NC	0
1996	Footwork Hart	FootworkFA17	HartV8	AUS Ret	BRA Ret	ARG 6	EUR Ret	SMR Ret	MON Ret	ESP Ret	CAN Ret	FRA Ret	GBR 10	GER Ret	HUN Ret	BEL Ret	ITA 8	POR Ret	JPN 11		16th	1
1997	PIAA Tyrrell Ford	Tyrrell025	FordV8	AUS Ret	BRA 15	ARG Ret	SMR 10	MON 8	ESP 11	CAN Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 10	HUN Ret	BEL Ret	ITA Ret	AUT 12	LUX Ret	JPN 13	EUR 16	NC	0
1998	HSBC Stewart Ford	StewartSF02	FordV10	AUS	BRA	ARG	SMR	ESP	MON	CAN	FRA 12	GBR Ret	AUT Ret	GER Ret	HUN 13	BEL Ret	ITA Ret	LUX 13	JPN Ret		NC	0
2000	Arrows F1 Team	ArrowsA21	SupertecV10	AUS Ret	BRA 7	SMR 14	GBR Ret	ESP Ret	EUR Ret	MON Ret	CAN 5	FRA Ret	AUT Ret	GER Ret	HUN 13	BEL 15	ITA 4	USA Ret	JPN Ret	MAL 10	12th	5
2001	OrangeArrowsAsiatech	ArrowsA22	AsiatechV10	AUS 10	MAL 7	BRA Ret	SMR Ret	ESP 12	AUT 6	MON 8	CAN 10†	EUR Ret	FRA 13	GBR 10	GER 9	HUN 12	BEL 10	ITA Ret	USA Ret	JPN 15	18th	1
2003	EuropeanMinardi Cosworth	MinardiPS03	CosworthV10	AUS 11	MAL 13	BRA Ret	SMR Ret	ESP 12	AUT Ret												22nd	0
	TrustMinardi Cosworth									MON Ret	CAN 9	EUR 14	FRA 16	GBR 15	GER Ret	HUN 12	ITA Ret	USA 10	JPN 15
Sources:

^†Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

(Races inboldindicate pole position) (Races initalicsindicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	DC	Points	Ref
2005–06	Netherlands	GBR SPR Ret	GBR FEA 7	GER SPR Ret	GER FEA 7	POR SPR 4	POR FEA Ret	AUS SPR 7	AUS FEA 4	MYS SPR 5	MYS FEA 16	UAE SPR 11	UAE FEA 9	RSA SPR 16	RSA FEA 1	IDN SPR 7	IDN FEA 6	MEX SPR 4	MEX FEA 2	USA SPR 14	USA FEA Ret	CHN SPR Ret	CHN FEA 17	7th	69

Complete Le Mans Series results

(key) (Races inboldindicate pole position; races initalicsindicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	Pos.	Points
2008	Van Merksteijn Motorsport	LMP2	Porsche RS Spyder Evo	PorscheMR6 3.4 L V8	CAT 1	MNZ 2	SPA 1	NÜR 1	SIL 1	1st	48
Sources:

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2008	Van Merksteijn Motorsport	Peter van Merksteijn Sr. Jeroen Bleekemolen	Porsche RS SpyderEvo	LMP2	354	10th	1st
2009	Aston Martin Racing	Anthony Davidson Darren Turner	Lola-Aston Martin B09/60	LMP1	342	13th	11th
Source:

WRC results

Year	Entrant	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	WDC	Points
2022	Jos Verstappen	Citroën C3 Rally2	MON	SWE	CRO	POR	ITA	KEN	EST	FIN	BEL 60	GRE	NZL	ESP	JPN	NC	0
Sources:

External links

• Verstappen family official site