Max Verstappen is one of the most talented F1 drivers, to say the very least. The 24-year-old has already gone to break innumerable records and even has a driver’s title to his name. However, everything that Verstappen has today has come at a cost.

The Dutchman, always being the youngest in his class, made his F1 debut at only 17 years of age. Throughout his entire journey, his father and ex-F1 driver Jos Verstappen was right alongside him at every step of the way.

Jos groomed and nurtured Max into the driver he is today, right from his early karting days. However, sometimes the ex-F1 driver might have taken things too far. One particular instance that particularly stands out saw a young Max stranded on the side of the road in Italy so he could learn a lesson.

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However, Max handled it in the best way possible and took it as a learning experience as he defended his father’s methods.

Young Max Verstappen left alone at a gas station in Italy

When a silly mistake cost a young Max the KZ2 karting championship, it was safe to say Jos was livid. He wanted to teach his son a valuable lesson. On the way, Jos has had enough of young Max’s ranting about the incident. So he left Max stranded by the side of the road.

However, it wasn’t as bad as it sounds as his mother was driving up right behind them a couple of minutes down the road. Jos defended his father’s actions as he never really intended to desert his son and would have picked him up in a few minutes.

Max also opened up about how the incident affected him. He said, “And of course, when you explain it now for some people it sometimes sounds a bit shocking, but I didn’t know anything else. Right? I didn’t know any better.”

He was also grateful for his upbringing and said, “And sometimes, of course, you know, it felt quite harsh. But at the end now when I look back at it, I’m very happy that I grew up like that.”

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The Red Bull driver claimed his upbringing also helps him cope with the stress that his career brings with it. Max said, “Because whatever happens now, it doesn’t disturb me because it’s nothing — not even close to what I experienced when I was a kid.”

Will Super Max’s childhood lessons guide him in his bid for a title defense?