Jos Verstappen
Updated: Wikipedia source
Johannes Franciscus "Jos" Verstappen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈjɔs fɛrˈstɑpə(n)]; born 4 March 1972) is a Dutch racing and rally driver who competes in the European Rally Championship as a privateer. Verstappen competed in Formula One between 1994 and 2003. Born and raised in Dutch Limburg, Verstappen began competitive kart racing aged eight. After a successful karting career—culminating in two direct-drive Karting European Championships in 1989—Verstappen graduated to junior formulae. He started his career in Formula Opel Lotus, winning the Benelux Championship in 1992. Later that year, he also won the EFDA Nations Cup, representing the Netherlands. Progressing to German Formula Three in 1993, Verstappen won the title in his rookie season with Opel, further winning the Masters of Formula 3. Signing for Benetton as a test driver in 1994, Verstappen made his Formula One debut at the Brazilian Grand Prix, replacing the injured JJ Lehto to partner Michael Schumacher for the opening two rounds of the season. Verstappen formally replaced Lehto after the Canadian Grand Prix, scoring two podiums in his rookie season before being replaced by Johnny Herbert in Japan. His podium in Hungary made him the first Dutch driver to score a podium finish in Formula One. Verstappen competed for Simtek in 1995 before the team went bankrupt five rounds into the season, returning to his test driver role with Benetton. He became a full-time driver for Footwork in 1996. After non-classified championship finishes in 1997 and 1998 with Tyrrell and Stewart, respectively, Verstappen became a test driver for the Honda project in 1999. He returned to a race seat with Arrows in 2000, competing with them for a further two seasons. After a year hiatus, Verstappen completed his final Formula One season with Minardi in 2003. Following his departure, Verstappen moved to A1 Grand Prix with the Netherlands for the 2005–06 season, achieving his sole victory in the South Africa feature race. He then competed in sportscar racing in 2008, winning both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Le Mans Series in the LMP2 class with Van Merksteijn. In rallying, he contested the 2022 Ypres Rally as an independent entrant, and has competed in the European Rally Championship since 2025. Since 2002, Verstappen has coached and managed his son Max from karting at an early age to winning four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles. Max's successes in the sport have renewed public scrutiny of Verstappen, who has faced several allegations of assault spanning two decades.