Jos proud of Max' historic Masters triumph
Published on 08 July 2014 by Stefan Meens
For the third time in the history of the Zandvoort Masters, a Dutchman has taken the victory. Twice, the Verstappen name claimed the top spot as Max crowned himself the ‘Master’ of the 2014 edition of the prestigious Formula 3-event. His father Jos won the race 21 years ago. Needless to say, Jos is very proud of Verstappen junior’s triumph.
“When I won the Marlboro Masters back in 1993, it was a different time but it’s great to be reminded and it is terrific that Max has been able to win this race. It’s not easy winning race after a race and once again, he’s learned a lot over the course of the weekend. To win, in front of your home crowd, on a difficult track is very impressive so I’m very happy and proud!”
One of the aspects that impressed Jos the most is Max’ ability to adapt. “The Zandvoort Masters is independent from the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. This meant Max had to work with a different car, team and people. It took a bit more getting used to than we anticipated but it proved a good challenge for him. In a very short amount of time, he had to work extremely hard to get acquainted with everything and he rose to the challenge. That really showed in qualifying, he put in such an amazing lap. Terrific.”
An additional challenge was the media frenzy around Verstappen junior on home soil. “I can’t recall I’ve ever seen this madness on the grid. There were so many photographers and journalists around him. It was pretty insane and I told him to just look down in the cockpit if he wanted to get away from it all. Because we shouldn’t forget he is only sixteen years of age. And yes, most of the media interest is positive and many people came to Zandvoort to cheer Max on but it does put the pressure on a driver to deal with it.”
Reflecting on the race, Jos is impressed with Max’ ‘thinking’ during the race. “He had a good start, despite the system being different to the one he is used to. After that, he showed great skill by driving very fast on cold tyres in the first two laps. And from the moment he had a four second gap he maintained the lead wonderfully without ruining his tyres. This meant he had enough left at the end of the race whilst other drivers struggled for grip. The race was typical Max. He really thought it through and through”, concludes a proud father.
