F1 News: Max Verstappen’s ‘second father’ opens up on Jos Verstappen’s parenting techniques

Jos Verstappen, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing — Photo: © IMAGO

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Max Verstappen’s ‘second father’ opens up on Jos Verstappen’s parenting techniques

Max Verstappen's upbringing is once again a hot topic

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Saturday 25 April 2026 21:57

Former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has offered fresh insight into the upbringing of four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen, painting a picture of how strict his father, Jos Verstappen, was.

Marko 'retired' from his role with the energy drink giants at the end of the 2025 championship after Verstappen narrowly missed out on securing a fifth consecutive drivers' title, a victory which would have matched Michael Schumacher's record.

Even after officially stepping down from the Milton Keynes team last year, Marko remains closely involved with Verstappen, who previously described the Austrian as being like a 'second father' to him.

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Red Bull F1 team principal Laurent Mekies even revealed recently that Marko keeps in regular contact with the energy drink's lineup despite Guillaume Rocquelin now leading the development of emerging talent within their ranks.

Verstappen is now facing one of the toughest turning points in his career, with Dutch media claiming he is 'seriously considering' retirement due to his sheer dislike of F1's new power unit regulations.

But the Dutchman isn't giving up just yet and is clearly made of tough stuff, and according to Marko, that is in part thanks to his relentless and often controversial father, Jos Verstappen.

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Jos Verstappen training gave Max Verstappen 'psychological edge'

According to Marko, Jos' unforgiving training regime laid the foundation for Max's success in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Marko recalls that the young Verstappen was sometimes forced to continue driving in bitter cold until his fingers turned blue—a harsh method he revealed in an interview with Die Zeit.

The now 82-year-old witnessed first-hand how the four-time world champion showed an exceptional mentality from an early age—a quality that persists despite a challenging start to the season in 2026, with the 28-year-old sitting ninth in the championship after three races.

During the interview, Marko fondly remembered how both Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen convinced him with their fierce determination, saying: "When Vettel sat opposite me at that table in my office back then, he had just won 18 out of 20 Formula BMW races. He was unhappy that he hadn’t won the other two as well. I remember that unbridled determination."

With Max, it was his mental maturity that caught his eye: "Verstappen gave the impression that the mind of a 25-year-old man was housed in his 15-year-old body. Max had a clear goal, which was partly down to the extremely effective and tough training he received from his father," Marko explained.

Marko describes Max's early training as nothing short of brutal: "You must always be the first, the best," he said, emphasising that Max soaked up these words from his father.

He recalled a specific period during Max’s karting days near Milan, close to Lake Garda, revealing: "Max had to drive there until his fingers turned blue. It didn’t matter if it was only ten degrees or if it was raining."

Marko believes it was this tough upbringing that significantly contributed to Max's ability to excel in F1, even under adverse conditions.

"But he still benefits today from his father’s strictness. When Max takes to the track in bad weather, he’s immediately two seconds faster than the others," Marko noted, before adding however that while the harsh methods honed his competitive edge, not every young driver would have withstood such psychological pressure.

"Not every boy would have been able to cope with that mentally," he concluded on the topic.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 Max Verstappen Helmut Marko Jos Verstappen