WRC Rally Belgium
Jos Verstappen on WRC Ypres debut: "Max thinks I'm crazy"
Ex-Formula 1 driver Jos Verstappen says son Max Verstappen thinks he is “crazy” for taking up rallying, but is supportive of his father’s World Rally Championship debut this weekend.
Tom Howard
Edited: Aug 20, 2022, 1:35 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Jos Verstappen is set to join the WRC ranks at Ypres Rally Belgium where he will pilot a WRC2 specification Citroen C3 in the tough asphalt event.
The 50-year-old, who chalked up 106 starts during his F1 career with Benetton, Simtek, Footwork, Tyrrell, Stewart, Arrows and Minardi only took up rallying a year and a half ago.
This year Verstappen made his competitive rally debut, driving the C3, in the Belgian Rally Championship, with this weekend’s outing at Ypres Rally Belgium only the fifth rally of his career.
Speaking to select media including Motorsport.com, Verstappen says his F1 world champion son has taken an interest in rallying, and is keenly following his father’s progress in switching from circuit racing to rally.
“He thinks I’m crazy,” smiled Verstappen, when asked what Max thinks of his career change. “But he understands and he enjoys it. I have him on the phone every day. He likes it and he enjoys it as long as I have fun.”
Verstappen also revealed that Max has tested his C3 Rally2 car, confirming the Red Bull F1 star quickly adapted to the new discipline in the brief outing.
“Once you have the feeling it doesn’t matter what car you drive,” Verstappen added. “We had this trackday and he [Max] was very fast, I had no chance.”
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Fun has been the key ingredient that has sparked Jos Verstappen’s decision to embark on a foray into rallying, admitting that the discipline mirrors the feeling of adrenaline experienced when racing in F1.
“It is excitement at every stage,” he said. “When you do a Formula 1 race you have that excitement before the race and then you have the start and that starts the adrenaline.
“But here in rally you have this eight times a day. Then it is so exciting because you don’t know the circuit and you have to listen, and this makes it exciting.
Looking ahead to this weekend’s rally, Verstappen says finishing the 281.58km event is the target as he looks to continue his steep learning curve, that he hopes will lead to further outings in the WRC next year.
“To finish, this is the main goal,” he added.
“It is a long [event] but it is going for the whole week but physically it shouldn’t be a problem. I will have to stay calm and try to finish it as there is a lot of stages but it is good, that is why I’m here.
“You have to take your time, of course you want to go on the limit with the cars but you have to adapt to what is coming. Nobody knows how the track will be after 30 cars have been through.
“I hope we can go through the first day and get that experience in.”
Read Also:
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Drivers braced for toughest wet tarmac WRC event
Next article WRC Belgium: Rovanpera crashes out after violent roll
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Tom Howard
Argentina set to make WRC comeback in 2028
WRC
WRC 2 d
Argentina set to make WRC comeback in 2028
Sebastien Loeb tests again as Project Rally One submits WRC homologation papers
WRC
WRC 4 d
Sebastien Loeb tests again as Project Rally One submits WRC homologation papers
More from
Jos Verstappen
David Coulthard explains why Robin Raikkonen's rise resembles Max Verstappen's
Formula 1
Formula 1
Spanish GP
1 mo
David Coulthard explains why Robin Raikkonen's rise resembles Max Verstappen's
Jos Verstappen unharmed after heavy crash during rally in Belgium
Other rally
Other rally 6 mo
Jos Verstappen unharmed after heavy crash during rally in Belgium
Which modern Formula 1 driver raced for the most teams?
Formula 1
Formula 1 6 mo
Which modern Formula 1 driver raced for the most teams?
Latest news
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 12 h
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 12 h
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
14 h
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
16 h
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe