Jos Verstappen: Max Verstappen’s dad, the ex-F1 driver involved in infamous fire with controversial past
Jos Verstappen made his F1 debut at the 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix after🙈 Benetton driver JJ Lehto ൲broke his vertebra.
Verstappen drove alongside Michael Schumacher, who would go🐷 onto win the 1994 title ahead of Damon Hill.
Verstappen failed to s♊core points in his first two races for the team before making a return in F📖rance.
The Dutc💝hman stood on the podium at the Hungarian and Belgian Grands Prix before being dropped for the final two races in favour of Johnny Herbert.
Herbert would secure the drive for 1995 alongside Schumacher, while Verstaꦓppen was forced to move to Simtek🍃.
Infamous fire incident
During the 1994 campꦓaign, Verstappen was involved in a dramatic fire incident at the German Grand Prix.
During his first pit stop, ൲fuel leaked onto the car after the fuel hose was disconnected.
As a result, his car went up in flames for꧑ several🌼 seconds.
Verstappen was uninjured besides a few minor burns ✤to his nose.
Rest of his F1 career
The remainder of Verstappe✅n’s F1 career proved to be unsuccessful as he never stood on the podium again after 1994.
His 1995 campaign was cut short by Simtek’s fina෴ncial struggles, while 1996 only mustered one championship point with Footwork Hart.
Two top fi✃ve finishes for Arrows in 2000 was the best Verstappen achieved in the final years of his career.
He finally retired at the end of 2003 after drivi♔ng for minnows Minardi.
After scoring 10 points in hi🐎s firsಌt season, Verstappen managed just seven points in the subsequent seven years.
Controversial past
🔯Verstappen has a controversial history with a number of high-profile incidents.
Verstappen and his father were found guilty of assaulting a man at a karting track in 1998♒ but were given a five-year suspended sentence after reaching an out-of-couไrt settlement.
In 2008, Verstappen appeared in Belgian court charged with assaulting his wi🌞fe (who he had separated) Sophie Kumpen (the mother of Max).
He was found guilty of sending threatening texts and viola⛄ting a previous restraining order but avoided ja🐻il.
Finally, in November 2011 it was reported that Verstওappen had assaulted his ex-girlfriend.
He was then arr꧟ested on attempted murder charges after clꦍaims he drove a car into his ex-girlriend but was released after the charge was withdrawn.
With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and storylines, Connor🌼 is the heartbeat of our 🌜unbiased reporting.
