Jos Verstappen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jos Verstappen
Verstappen at the 2005–06 A1 Grand Prix of Nations, South Africa
Born	Johannes Franciscus Verstappen (1972-03-04) 4 March 1972 (age 53) Montfort, Limburg, Netherlands
Spouse(s)	Sophie Kumpen ​ ​ (m. 1996; div. 2008)​ Kelly van der Waal ​ ​ (m. 2014; div. 2017)​ Sandy Sijtsma ​ (m. 2018)​
Children	5, including Max
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Dutch
Active years	1994–1998, 2000–2001, 2003
Teams	Benetton, Simtek, Footwork, Tyrrell, Stewart, Arrows, Minardi
Entries	107 (106 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	2
Career points	17
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1994 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last entry	2003 Japanese Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	2008–2009
Teams	Van Merksteijn, Aston Martin
Best finish	10th (2008)
Class wins	1 (2008)

Johannes Franciscus "Jos" Verstappen (born 4 March 1972) is a Dutch racing driver and rally driver. He is famous for his career in Formula One (F1) from 1994 to 2003. He is also known as the father and manager of four-time F1 World Champion, Max Verstappen.

Jos Verstappen was a talented driver himself. He was the first driver from the Netherlands to stand on a Formula One podium. After F1, he raced in other series like the A1 Grand Prix and won the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race in his class. Today, he competes in rallying and continues to support his son's racing career.

Early Racing Life

Jos Verstappen started kart racing when he was only eight years old. He quickly showed great talent and began winning national competitions. In 1984, he became the Dutch junior karting champion. By 1989, he had won two European Karting Championships, a special achievement.

In late 1991, he moved from karts to racing cars. He started in Formula Opel Lotus, where all the drivers use identical cars. He won the European championship in his very first year. This success led him to Formula Three, a more advanced racing category. In 1993, he won the German Formula 3 championship and the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3, proving he was ready for the big leagues.

Formula One Career

Getting Started with Benetton (1994)

After his success in Formula Three, Verstappen tested a Formula One car for the Footwork Arrows team. He was so fast that almost every F1 team, except for Ferrari and Williams, wanted to hire him. He signed with the Benetton team as their test driver for the 1994 season.

He got his big break when Benetton's main driver, JJ Lehto, was injured before the season started. Verstappen took his place for the first two races, driving alongside the legendary Michael Schumacher. He later returned to the race seat and had a strong rookie season.

A scary moment happened at the 1994 German Grand Prix. During a pit stop, fuel spilled onto his hot car and it burst into flames. Verstappen was inside the car, but he bravely escaped with only minor burns. This incident led to new safety rules for refueling in F1.

Verstappen driving the Benetton B194 at the 1994 British Grand Prix.

His best moments in 1994 were two third-place finishes. He finished on the podium in Hungary and Belgium, becoming the first Dutch driver to do so in F1. He finished his first season in 10th place in the championship.

Driving for Different Teams (1995–1998)

After his first year, Verstappen drove for several different F1 teams.

• Simtek (1995): He drove for the small Simtek team, but the car was not very reliable. The team ran out of money and closed down after only five races.
• Footwork (1996): He scored a point by finishing sixth in Argentina. However, he had a serious crash in Belgium due to a car part breaking, which caused a neck injury.
• Tyrrell (1997): He joined the famous Tyrrell team, but they lacked a powerful engine and money. He could not score any points that year.
• Stewart (1998): He joined the Stewart team for the second half of the season, but the car was not competitive enough to score points.

Verstappen's 1998 Stewart SF02, which he drove for the Stewart Grand Prix team.

Return to Arrows and Final F1 Season

After a year as a test driver for a Honda project that was later cancelled, Verstappen returned to the Arrows team for the 2000 and 2001 seasons.

Verstappen testing for the Arrows team at the Monza circuit in 2000.

In 2000, the Arrows car was fast but often broke down. Still, Verstappen had some great races. He finished fifth in Canada and had an impressive fourth-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

In 2001, he stayed with Arrows and scored the team's only point of the season with a sixth-place finish in Austria.

Verstappen's final year in Formula One was in 2003 with the Minardi team. Minardi was a small team with a limited budget, so it was a tough season. His best result was ninth place at the Canadian Grand Prix. After 2003, he left Formula One, having raced in 107 Grands Prix and scoring 17 points.

Verstappen driving for Minardi at the 2003 British Grand Prix.

Racing After Formula One

A1 Grand Prix

After a break from racing, Verstappen joined the A1 Team Netherlands for the A1 Grand Prix series in 2005. This series was like a "World Cup of Motorsport," with drivers representing their countries. Verstappen won the main race in Durban, South Africa, giving the Netherlands a victory.

Verstappen driving for A1 Team Netherlands at the A1 Grand Prix in Durban, 2006.

Le Mans Victory

In 2008, Verstappen switched to sports car racing. He competed in the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Driving a Porsche for the Van Merksteijn Motorsport team, he won in the LMP2 category. This was a huge achievement. He also won the Le Mans Series championship in the same year.

Verstappen driving for Van Merksteijn Motorsport at the 2008 1000km of Silverstone, where he won the LMP2 class.

Personal Life

Verstappen in 2014

In 1996, Verstappen married Sophie Kumpen, who was also a successful kart racing champion from Belgium. They have two children, Max (born 1997) and Victoria (born 1999). Both Max and Victoria became racing drivers. Max has become one of the most successful drivers in history, winning the Formula One World Championship four times.

Jos has three other children from later marriages: a daughter named Blue Jaye (born 2014), a son named Jason Jaxx (born 2019), and a daughter named Mila Faye (born 2020).

From a very young age, Jos coached and managed his son Max's career. He used his own racing experience to guide Max from his first days in a kart to his debut in Formula One.

Racing Record

Career Summary

See also

In Spanish: Jos Verstappen para niños

• Formula One drivers from the Netherlands