Jos Verstappen: “Only in Australia you really know where you are at”
Published on 22 February 2016 by Mike Motilall
Although Max Verstappen will get his piece of action during the second day of winter testing at circuit de Barcelona, both father and son Verstappen were to be seen early this morning in the pit lane. Intently they watched Carlos Sainz’ performance, who was the first to put the STR11 through its paces. Around noon, we shortly spoke with Jos about his expectations for the coming season.
This morning you witnessed the performance of the Toro Rosso. What is the first that strikes you regarding the car? “They say: a car that looks well, performs well also. It looks good, I must say that, but you can only draw conclusions when you see the lap times. So I think it is too early to say anything about that, we will need to wait.” Do you think that in the coming days, it will be apparent how the field will eventually be? “Well, I don’t think that anyone is showing their true colours, that will only happen during the first race in Australia. Then you know where you are at.”
Scuderia Toro Rosso did an excellent job, by building the car in two and a half months. “I think that the team worked very hard to accomplish this in such a short amount of time. Even the team is impressed.” James Key analyzed that the Toro Rosso should be a second faster this year. Do you have believe that? “Let’s hope so. But let’s not forget, the other teams are not idling. They are also making progress, not only at Toro Rosso.”
Last year Max was a hype: everything he did was cool and he had some great overtakes. What do you expect of him this year? “He needs to continue in the same manner. Just like what he did last year. That is what I expect of him, but that is something he also expects of himself!” Is a second season harder by definition, because expectations are higher? “That’s not on our mind. Each race is a race and you try to do your utmost. He will still need to make decisions when a situation arises. You cannot take that into account. You will win some, you will lose some. But Max is well prepared and he can’t wait.”
How do you see your own part in this process? Are you still in the same way Max’ coach? “I don’t see it as coaching. I am his father and I have his best interest at heart. We talk about everything and we both want to go in the same direction. Forward. “Exactly!”
