Max Verstappen has never shied away from narrating how tough his father was while he was growing up. While that approach helped him become the champion racer he is today, it probably did not help Jos otherwise. The former F1 driver once got into a brutal bar brawl that left him wounded and in trouble with the cops.

Growing up in a household where both his parents were motorsport racers, Max got exposure to the sport pretty early. As he realized his love for sport early, he had the perfect mentor in his own father. Practicing the hard taskmaster approach, Verstappen Sr. would often make him race in tough conditions. To make him learn the important lesson of taking care of his tires, Jos would often make Max race on older tires. The tough personality, however, wasn’t too helpful in life outside of the racetrack.

Jos, in 2017, found himself on the wrong side of the law. He got involved in a fight at a beach club in the Netherlands and suffered a black eye and a cut on his face. Verstappen refused to leave the area after the police arrived and therefore had to be arrested. His lawyer, Marcel Heuvelmans, according to Express UK, said, “He was waiting to be picked up. If you are a victim, why do you have to leave?”

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While Jos’ treatment sometimes got out of hand, Max now realizes that he deserved the treatment.

Max Verstappen is happy he received the kind of treatment his father doled out

Recently speaking with GQ, Max narrated a 2012 incident when he lost the championship to a silly mistake in the final race of the season. He raced too hard and collided with one of his opponents. The incident did not go down too well with his father. After the race, Jos was driving Max back home in their van. He did not want to talk to his son, but Max kept trying to talk to him. Still angry with the incident, he dropped Max at a gas station several miles away from home, only to come back and pick him up.

In the interview, Verstappen Jr. admitted, “I mean, it sounds horrible. Like, it sounds a bit horrible. Like, some people probably cannot deal with that kind of behavior, but I needed it. I was that type of character, probably, who needed this kind of treatment.”

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“Of course, from the outside it sounds sometimes a bit harsh. But I’m very happy that I had that kind of treatment.”

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Whatever treatment Jos made his son go through, it turned out to be fruitful. His son is a 2-time world champion at just 25 years of age and still has a lot to look forward to in his F1 career.