Jos Verstappen reveals tell-tale sign Max 'had something special'

Jos Verstappen says Max once displayed a specific quality as a seven-year-old karter that told him that his son "had something special".

Verstappen Sr, who competed in 107 Grands Prix, took the burgeoning young talent under his wing, supported his efforts in karting and groomed his skills until he made his entry into the big time with Toro Rosso in 2015 and became the youngest F1 driver in history at 17 years and 166 days.

Over six years and 15 Grand Prix wins later, the Red Bull charger leads the World Championship by 32 points over Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.

But for Max Verstappen it started in the wild and colorful ranks of karting, and with one particular attribute noted by his father.

"When he was seven years old, I saw he had something special," explained the former F1 driver, quoted by Speedweek.

"He was always incredibly fast on the first lap on cold tyres. And when overtaking. You can see where someone can overtake, how he prepares it – Max was always very good at that."

There was no looking back for the father and son pair once both were convinced of Max's destiny.

"For me, it was between 80,000 and 100,000 kilometres with the bus every year," added Verstappen Sr. "I also prepared the engines, was a mechanic and a stay-at-home dad.

"That cost me a lot of time and money and I wouldn’t have done that if I hadn’t seen his talent."

The former Grand Prix driver admits that he was tough on times on his talented son as he forcefully crafted Max's winning mentality.

"I do think it was tough for Max," he said. "We didn’t go to the track to chase the others. We went there to win, and that’s what I taught Max.

"I always just wanted to win, win, win. That’s what I asked him to do."

• Read also: Red Bull needs to be up there 'every single weekend' - Verstappen

Jos remained involved in his son's day-to-day motorsport life up until the end of his first year in F1 with Toto Rosso, and then he took a salutary step back.

"I was fully involved, also to show Max how to work with the team," said the 49-year-old.

"The nice thing is we still talk to each other every day Max drives. We call each other and talk about how things went and what’s going on.

"I also tell him my thoughts on it. I’m just telling him, he doesn’t need to answer, but I know he’s thinking about it. That’s the only thing I want."

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