Column: Jos Verstappen - That racing feeling never fades
Published on 03 July 2015 by Stefan Meens
Jos Verstappen is still the Netherlands most successful Formula 1 driver. This season he shares his opinions regarding the sport via a column in Dutch daily newspaper De Telegraaf. Below the latest edition.
“The 24 hours of Le Mans, Italia a Zandvoort and the British Grand Prix. Three events in three weeks, each with their own style and character, but all of them are popular among a broad audience.
Two weeks ago, I watched Le Mans fairly intensely and I have to say it got me a bit excited. Frits van Eerd is seriously considering to enter the race in the LMP2-category with a team in which Jan Lammers and myself would be involved. However, at this stage there is nothing to it as we haven't even discussed it personally.
I wouldn’t mind getting back into a racing car but it has to be interesting from a sporting perspective. In other words: if the car isn’t fast, then it's not for me. Personally I think I can get fully fit and prepared quickly. We'll also need to get Frits to a slightly higher level in the car, but he's got that potential so that should be fine.
Last week was special for me and Max because of our Formula 1 demonstration at Zandvoort. The 30.000 fans that showed up are a testimony of how popular F1 is in the Netherlands thanks to Max. What stood out to me is how popular he is among kids. They're able to identify themselves with Max. On the one hand, that's because of his age. On the other hand because he's approachable. I think many kids see him as a normal guy, just like them, who is living his dream.
It's funny, it appears that people start to notice me again as well with the whole hype surrounding Max. My highlight was racing against him. Of course we drove completely different cars, but still. I quickly felt at home in the Minardi PS01 in which I contested the 2003 Formula 1 season. It shows that racing feeling never really fades. In the end you always try to brake that little bit later. Overall, the atmosphere and ambiance at Italia a Zandvoort definitely makes me long for more.
Since Wednesday, Max and I are staying at a Hotel near Silverstone. The British Grand Prix is something special. You can tell it's a home race for most of the teams. Racing is in the British' blood. You wont see many empty seats in the stands here. On Sunday alone, 140.000 fans are expected.
Silverstone is a proper driver's track with beautiful corners such as Becketts and Copse. However, there are also a couple of long straights, which is not ideal for Toro Rosso. Nevertheless, Max is very positive going into the weekend after his great eighth place in Austria. And that's the right attitude for a driver to have.”
Jos Verstappen
Source: De Telegraaf/Telesport
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