It is a well-known fact that Jos Verstappen orchestrated his son’s career right from when he was a child to his Formula 1 debut. But few know that the ‘extremely involved’ father of Max Verstappen was asked by Red Bull to take a ‘step back.’

This is something Graham Watson, the former team manager at Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri recently described.

He said that because of Jos Verstappen’s own career in which he was treated unfairly, he put in extra focus on his son’s road to success; perhaps a little too much at times. “Jos perhaps doubted whether our team was of the level to help his son further in F1. I noticed this especially in the fact that Jos tapped my shoulder every day and asked: ‘Graham, what about this and what about that?'” Watson recalls.

He continued, “At one point I had to be a little blunt and say, ‘For fuck’s sake, just let the team members do their job.’ Only when Max came to Red Bull did they tell Jos that he really had to take a step back.” (Translated via Google Translate)

Watson gives Jos Verstappen credit for the tough mentality of Max Verstappen

The former team manager recalled an old conversation with the 2021 champion. He said, “I asked him: ‘Say Max, how do you deal with the nerves?’ He looked at me a little weird and said, ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Well, you know, when you’re on the grid street, the red lights come on and you’re standing among all the F1 stars who are much more experienced.”

“Max just said, ‘Graham, I’ve honestly never thought about that. I just want to race.’ He added that he had been driving karts from the age of four and had felt the pressure of championships. He was only seventeen when he rode with us, but he had actually already had a long career and his father’s hard training,” Watson added.

So, despite being asked to step aside by his son’s team, the key contribution in his son’s career was already done by Jos Verstappen.

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There’s no doubt that it was Verstappen senior’s intense focus on his son’s growth and developing his mindset that we know Verstappen junior for what he really is; a modern great.

Also Read: Alex Albon Recalls His Title Win Over Max Verstappen in Karting