Max Verstappen eager to participate in team with father Jos Verstappen

Max Verstappen

Verstappen eager to participate in team with father Jos

Verstappen has indicated it will likely be a while before the duo join forces

Ewan Gale

Monday 18 January 2021 18:04 Updated: 14:05

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has revealed he is eager to partner his father Jos in a team together in the future but conceded any opportunity to do so is not imminent.

Verstappen, who last season finished third in the world championship after battling with Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas for much of the year, has been mentored by his father throughout his career.

The Dutchman has stated he would have to convince his dad, who himself drove in F1 in three separate stints between 1994 and 2003, to act as his team-mate in a future event.

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"It seems like I am more excited than he is about being in a team together," said the 23-year-old. "I guess I need to push him a bit more for him to really want to do it.

"But I think that is just because he wants me to win so will want to do a good job himself so if we do it, of course, we do it properly and will have to practice a bit more in whatever car we want to race in at the time.

"At the moment, it seems a bit far away."

Verstappen Sr, who hasn't raced professionally since the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans, has recently started to test privately according to his son.

The younger Verstappen has conceded he has enjoyed being able to dish out some coaching in retaliation to his junior formula days.

"He is still fast," added Verstappen. "Of course, when you don't drive for a long time regularly then you do lose a bit of the finesse.

"But I think now that he is starting to drive a bit more we can see that it is getting better and better all the time.

"I just enjoy sharing a day with my dad. Back in the day, he wouldn't be shouting at me but he would be hammering me about what I was doing wrong. Now with data and onboards and stuff, I can shout at him sometimes.

"We laugh about it. It's good fun. Also, sometimes we will be sitting next to each other so he will be driving and I will be sitting next to and then we will come in and swap so that after he is sitting next to me. It is nice that you can do those things as a family."