Max Verstappen is currently one of the best F1 drivers on the planet. The new two-time world champion has taken the F1 world aback with his dominant performances in 2022, even setting a new record for most wins in a season. However, it wasn’t always this sweet, as the Dutchman had learned the harsh truth about life when he was a child.

Things date back to his younger days, when Verstappen was just a promising driver, raring to go up the order and finally land in Formula 1. Verstappen, who has his father Jos Verstappen as a prominent figure on his journey to greatness, has always taught the Dutch driver to accept defeat and learn from it.

After GQ Sports gave Max Verstappen, the title of “Athlete of the Year,” they sat down with the world champion for an interview. There, the Dutchman opened up about his childhood and his father’s role in all of it. Verstappen conveyed, “My dad, of course, kept telling me: ‘It’s going great, but you will lose. It’s not gonna be great forever.”

Winning came naturally to Max. Hence, his dad wanted him to be prepared for the pain of losing at times.

“But it helps a lot later on—like now, in Formula 1. You learn to lose, to give it its place. Because you have to accept that you cannot win every race,” the report further stated on Max Verstappen’s personal lessons that he received from his strict father.

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Max Verstappen clinches rare feat from GQ Sports

GQ Sports announced Max Verstappen as athlete of the year. Verstappen picked up the 2022 feat while GQ also announced that the Dutchman will be on the cover page of their 27th Men of the Year issue.

The announcement has come amid controversy surrounding Verstappen’s denial to abide by Red Bull’s direction in the recently concluded Brazilian Grand Prix. The 25-year-old denied helping his teammate Sergio Perez at the Interlagos and this landed him in hot water among fans.

Despite this, Verstappen has been in a different league this season. From retaining his F1 world title to breaking Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel’s long-time record for most wins in a season, the Red Bull driver showed a phenomenal rise to dominance.

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The 25-year-old picked up 14 wins in 21 races so far this season and reached a staggering 429 points, the highest anyone has reached in any season. However, with the championship already decided, it’ll be interesting to see if Max Verstappen rights his wrong by helping his teammate get the P2 spot in the WDC at Abu Dhabi.