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Jos Verstappen is disappointed that Max's 'complaints' were not believed
- Sandy van Wijngaarden
Max Verstappen was beaten by more than 22 seconds by Lando Norris at Zandvoort last weekend. His father, Jos Verstappen, talks about the impact this had on his son. He also reveals that Verstappen sensed the problems at Red Bull Racing months ago, but was not believed at the time.
''No, we all didn't expect that,'' Jos Verstappen said of the race at Zandvoort in the Coen & Sander Show. ''It was also a huge disappointment that that happened.''
The Dutchman says that this result did have an effect on his son. ''He is definitely still combative, but after the race he was pretty done actually. Especially because we just don't have it together. It looks difficult this weekend as well.''
According to Jos, Red Bull have remained stagnant and no improvements seem to be in sight yet either. ''I think all the updates that have been made have not brought what they thought they would bring. As a result, you do stand still a bit. The others are making really big strides. Standing still is going backwards. Especially in Formula 1. Things are not looking positive in the near future either. The races follow each other in quick succession. I don't think they have really found a solution yet.''
Red Bull Racing didn't believe Verstappen
Max sensed at the start of the season that the car was not quite right, the former F1 driver reveals. ''At the beginning of the season where you then win races, then of course it all feels right, but he also said then that the balance is not right. Of course, that was not brought out at the time. They then try to keep that inside. He complained about the balance there too. Max actually complained about it about three months ago. Only they didn't really believe it, or they didn't really see it. Now you're actually a bit too late,'' Jos said.
Winning the world title is still the goal, but Jos also recognises that this could still be a difficult story. ''Max never gives up. Championship is more important. Of course we are trying to win that. If you only finish second and third every time, it could be different than not winning the championship in the end.''
This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sarkozi
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