Jos ready for a packed rally season: 'An insanely beautiful programme'

Published on 30 January 2025 by Misha van der Kroon

Ahead of the new rally season, Op De Rallykoffie, a Dutch-Belgian podcast about rallying, sat down with Jos Verstappen. Jos is set to take on a full schedule this year, including the Belgian Rally Championship (BRC) and the European Rally Championship (ERC).

When asked what keeps him busy outside of rallying, Jos responds: “Of course, I’m still involved with Max. Not as much as before, but especially early in his career, I guided him, even in Formula 1. Now, things are running smoothly. He’s old and wise enough to handle it himself. I think I’m still the one who tells him honestly what’s going well and what isn’t, and he appreciates that. I believe everyone needs that. I always have his best interests at heart, and of course, we want to win everything. That also comes with criticism. Besides rallying, that’s really my life, everything revolves around racing.”

Jos continues: “I’m glad I found rallying. It gives me a huge drive again and a clear goal. I love doing it, not just the driving, but also the communication with my co-driver. I think we have a very strong bond, and you really notice that in the car. We can say anything to each other, we’re both very driven, and we’re honest with one another. That’s important.”

On adapting from circuit racing to rallying, Jos says: “I think the hardest part was understanding my co-driver’s notes and having someone constantly talking in your ear while you’re fully focused on driving. The notes just didn’t register at first, they didn’t sink in. That was my biggest struggle. But the feeling with the car has always been there.”

“I have to say, I’ve learned a lot from my co-driver, Renaud Jamoul. He’s very driven and well-organised. Our team is extremely committed to getting the car exactly how we want it. Together with the team and the engineer, we leave nothing to chance. Before the first BRC rally in Haspengouw, we’ll do the Rallye Routes du Nord in Northern France as a test. It’s generally very slippery there, which is similar to Haspengouw. So yeah, we’re approaching this the right way.”

“This year, I’ve got 19 or 20 events planned: every BRC rally, every ERC rally, the Rallye International du Valais, and a historic rally in Sweden. And we’re also doing the East African Safari Classic Rally with the Porsche. We have an insanely beautiful programme.”

The Dakar Rally briefly comes up as well: “Every time I watch it, I find it fascinating, but I don’t think it’s for me.”