Max Verstappen: Whatever It Takes

What matters is that you accelerate in that car. Accelerator pedal, brake pedal, steering wheel.

In the end, that's how easy I think about it.

You are there to win. I don't care how you do it, as long as you cross the line first.

And yes, sometimes you have to be a jerk for that. That's just the way it is.

Max got where he is now by one person, and that is Jos.

He knows I gave everything I could to achieve this, and he is doing that now.

I don't think I am someone who will walk next to his shoes very quickly. In the end you just have to be yourself and concentrate on what to do and that is accelerate in that car.

And then you cannot go along with the fame that surrounds it. I learned that at an early age, also from my father.

Shall we go for a spin or not?

You go drive. I do not feel like it.

Oh, what a job I have made of that.

Max has also been to the Efteling (Dutch theme park). Culture.

When I see those children together I think: 'they always had a lot of fun together'. Laughing.

And here the famous Jeep with number 33. That's also where he got his number from.

Oh yes, Max has been playing soccer for a while.

Then he was already karting, but he really liked football. Jos didn't really like that.

Racing, racing, going to school every now and then, and yes, racing ...

Max was 3 and a half when he first started karting on a track.

Of course that is such a small man with a big helmet and in a baby cart and you think. 'Ooh if that goes well'.

Then he flipped over twice and I still remember climbing over that fence. Towards him.

"No, no, mom, I'm fine." That's your own flesh and blood, you can't describe that.

Before the age of twelve, we went to Italy almost every weekend in the winter to prepare.

So Friday afternoon we left school. I was waiting with the bus in front of the school

He got on the bus and I drove full throttle to Italy where I arrived two o'clock in the morning. Hotel.

Of course I knew from my father that we had to go there if you want to get further in motorsport. So those were long journeys. I slept quite a bit, so some journeys I didn't even get that much of it.

And then testing all day Saturday. And then getting everything ready for Sunday. Driving till four and five on a Sunday. Then I drove home full throttle again.

My father and mother also made that ride. They also went karting.

That's nice when the whole family is in on it.

I raced against Trulli, Button, Christian Horner, Max Team principal. He said recently, 'You were even faster than me'. I said: 'There must be a difference, Christian.'

But the difference is that those men made it and I was the wife of and now the mother of.

I have to say, the first year I was never really into babies. They don't do very much.

Look at Jos giving the bottle. - But when I was at home, I was always busy with them.

But changing diapers was not my forte.

Then it was still a family. Just browsing through.

I always thought it was very nice and cool that my father drove in Formula 1.

And of course everyone has their own opinion, and I think my father knows that it could have been better.

Sometimes things are not going well, you have made the wrong choices. And then it ends.

My best time was actually the first year. You made many mistakes. At least, I also think it was difficult if you had a really strong teammate.

Everything was adjusted to him, and you can feel that as a driver.

I just wasn't prepared.

I think I could have gotten a lot more out of it if I had known more. If I had someone with me who explained things. And also someone you had faith in.

I had to figure everything out myself. And once you found out, it was already too late. You had already made the mistakes.

There were quite a lot of frustrations, because he couldn't show his talent in that car.

And that has also been a common thread in our marriage.

Everything he's been through has been good for me in the end.

I don't think he's too bothered about it anymore. I think he likes it much more that I'm doing well now.

And that in the end everything was not in vain.

In retrospect I might have needed to enjoyed it more, but you only learn that when you are older.

At that point, the focus was just racing and then back as soon as possible.

But now afterwards we just should have done a little more for that I think.

I always say jokingly, I started with Jos. It was an All-in deal, so I got the family on board.

I always say that to Helmut. You have the most beautiful diamond in the paddock, but you get the family for free.

And now and then we have to manage with that.

Today we have a teambuilding day.

Everyone participates? - At least the two of us.

But, if you take it easy, I'm fine with everything. No crazy frills.

Cross motor? - No, that's not allowed, you read that. - No that's MotoGP. - Yes, same.

No really? Raymond you don't mean that. - Yes nice huh.

Raymond has been very important since we started. A top manager.

He actually does almost everything.

Do I have to switch myself or does he do that automatically.

You are a driver, you can drive, right?

There is a drive on it. - You can do that, there's nothing wrong.

And besides that, it is also a family friend. I've known Raymond since I was born.

He handled the financial affairs for me. He knows a lot about that too.

But also the drive I have on the track, Raymond has it off the track.

Max, your first rental car in America.

I can't say things to my son every now and then because it's a father-son relationship.

Raymond does that. We discuss everything, I have him on the phone every day.

We really discuss everything.

I always had that in mind, because of course I was always busy with Max.

But I had already said to Max then. If we ever go to motorsport, it's Raymond we need to be with us.

If you hit the pin within 95-96, that's when I started.

And that has actually always been the case till today.

2003 when Jos stopped racing, then Jos raced some other classes. I was involved in that.

In the end, I accompanied him with the divorce from Sophie and the divorce from his second wife.

You eventually gain experience in it.

He is actually the common thread through our life and I think it is a very nice feeling for us that it is someone familiar.

Raymond is not only there for Max, He is also there for Jos, for me and for Victoria.

He is just a listening ear to the whole family.

A solution is always provided.

The stopwatch speaks to me, so I don't have to tell stories of how great Max is.

And trying to compensate with all kinds of bullshit stories to get the product Max to the man.

Max is the best there is on the track.

No, I don't think people always like me. While I myself think that I am very sympathetic.

Max, the weather is very nice. Are you a fair weather driver or a rain driver?

I don't really care.

Rain or dry that is actually my favorite ...

Explain to the viewers what to do when it rains.

Getting through the corner well and trying not to fly out.

Do you also have to have other tires? Yes, you must have rain tires.

Because otherwise it is really super slippery.

When I was little and drove in the rain, of course it didn't go anywhere.

In the beginning you are also searching. Because you have never really driven in the wet.

My dad saw that certain things were going wrong, so he got out on the court. "No, you have to drive here."

I went there. Oh there is more grip here.

Lap time of course faster. And at one point because he was pushing that all the time ...

That I had to drive that way or that I had to be there.

Then at a certain point you start to think how to do that yourself instead of almost running your father over.

He has to trust that, because if I make a small mistake I will run him over. Of course you don't want that.

I was there on the track with a long raincoat on. Very often alone.

But then you also heard the way he went on the gas and whether he had wheelspin.

It's about understanding how to go faster through a corner ... Where is the ideal line in the rain.

In the dry that goes quite blindly.

But in the rain that is feeling and watching.

I never hit him.

I want to go back to the period when you met Sophie. - Is that necessary?

We don't talk much about the past. The memories of karting are nice.

But not about the divorce or when we still lived together.

I think neither of us want to talk about that.

First let's see if our Max is ready.

Here Sophie sleeps with Jos.

No. No? Who sleeps there then?

Mama and Victoria. And where do you sleep with daddy?

In that bunk bed.

My career was finished in 2003.

Then I thought to myself 'is this my life now'. I thought it was boring.

I think I missed Formula 1. The challenge. The adrenaline.

The divorce was not easy for me, because there was also a lot of arguing.

Also that Max left and we got separated.

Max lives with me and Victoria with you.

I let go of Max to Jos, because I knew that if he wanted to make a career, then he belongs to Jos.

And that was very emotional for me, because you let go of a child.

I took Victoria to school. Jos took Max to school.

At a certain point you don't experience Max as a teenager.

That was tough yes. Turbulent.

In what sense? - Everything.

How many races have you driven this season? - Five.

Five races, did you ever lose?

No not even once.

What is easy about karting when it is that easy.

A good mechanic.

Who is your mechanic? - Daddy.

It was just full.

Richard has been our best friends since I was three years old. I also started karting because of his son.

We did everything with them until I was sixteen.

So they have been very important to me. And Richard and my dad have done so much together.

I saw Richard almost every day at the time.

I have to say, in the end Max is in Formula 1. But all together ...

I then tuned the engine, because I was good at it. But we consulted with Richard.

Wat we do now as well.

Two always know more than one.

The pressure was high yes. Jos's goal was for Max to enter Formula 1, or at least as high as possible in motorsport.

Yes, from the beginning, Formula 1 was the ultimate goal.

This is our museum.

We never sold anything or anything.

We kept everything we had so that no one could watch what we were doing.

Everything is in a rack here.

Everything is here, Max his first helmets.

All karts where Max has achieved something in are all here.

Karting is really expensive. That ran into hundreds of thousands of euros.

A multiple of that.

And at the time without an active income from racing.

You always saw something special with Max.

As a father you always think you have the fastest son. But with Max everything was just a bit easier.

Which is true, and I say that very honestly. Richard has three sons ...

Max was somewhere between the middle and youngest, but he always had to compete with those five years older.

So those were actually much further. And I must say that has helped Max a lot.

I never really thought about that. At a certain point that age difference ebbs away.

In the beginning he was really too small. And then we also drove a mini-kart.

I did compete at that time.

In everything we did, Jos pointed out to Max that you have to win and get the best out of it.

Doesn't matter what we did. Even if we went water skiing, it had to go well.

You should never give up and with all those things Jos has prepared Max.

My father raised me. All or nothing, then just over it.

That's how I drove too. In my time.

It was only winning. Max has that mentality too.

But then with more thought.

And you always saw that after his race starts. On the first lap, the tires are not yet at their optimal temperature.

And then he took the most distance. Then he was already driving to the limit.

And that was really a very strong point of Max.

The moment we started racing together you saw that Max immediately took steps and that we were quickly on the same level.

In the end, that was also very good for my career, because in motorsport you don't get the chance to learn first. You should be right up there.