Jos Verstappen
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Official Website: Jos Verstappen Info Page
Place of Birth: Montford
Resides: Monaco
Status: Married to Sophie (son: Max and daughter: Victoria)
Height: 1.75m
Weight: 73kg
Career previous to F1: 1993: German F3 Champion
1992: Benelux Opel Lotus Champion
1993: German F3 Champion
Races: 92
Wins: 0 (0.0%)
Podiums: 2 (2.2%)
Pole Positions: 0 (0.0%)
Retirements: 52 (56.5%)
Points Accumulated: 17.000
Debut: 27 Mar 1994
Last Race: 09 Mar 2003 |
View a complete listing of Jos Verstappen's Formula 1 results
Driver History
Over the years, and for a variety of reasons, Jos has promised much
but delivered relatively little. When he made his F1 debut in 1994,
Verstappen was touted as one of the hottest things to hit F1 since
Michael Schumacher - which was to prove ironic.
Following a short but incredibly successful career in single-seaters,
many believed Verstappen's move to F1 was just a little too hasty.
Matters weren't helped by the fact that he was to partner hot-shot
Michael Schumacher.
Jos' first race almost proved to be his last, when he was eliminated
following some reckless driving by Eddie Irvine in the Jordan. Later
that year, Jos hit the headlines again when his car burst in to
flames during a routine pit-stop at Hockenheim.
In 1995, Verstappen joined the ill-fated Simtek outfit, which was
to pull out of F1 following Monaco.
Over the next few years, Jos found drives at a variety of back
of the grid team, including Footwork and Tyrrell. In 1998, following
the firing of Jan Magnussen, Verstappen was hired by Stewart, however
they never took up an option for the following year.
It was then that Verstappen was recruited by Honda who were putting
together their own F1 team. At the pre-season tests in 1999, the
Honda development car ran alongside the '99 contenders - and for
the most part blew them away. At long last, it seemed as though
Jos' luck had changed.
However, the death of project leader Harvey Postlethwaite together
with Honda's decision to throw in their weight with BAR, brought
an end to the Dutchman's dreams.
For 2000 however, Jos "the boss" - as his legion of fans
call him, was back in F1 with Arrows, for what would prove to be
an unproductive year.
Verstappen scored five hard-earned points after being let down
by his car on a number of occasions, and the Dutchman made headlines
in a different way after being found guilty of assault after fracturing
a man's skull during a fight at a Belgian kart track.
Jos escaped a jail term after being given a five-year suspended
sentence, and Arrows decided to sign the Dutchman up for another
season to drive alongside rookie Enrique Bernoldi.
The 2001 season proved unrewarding for Arrows as the team battled
at the back of the field with the Minardis and a less than reliable
Asiatech engine.
He thought he'd been taken on for 2002 by Arrows, but when Prost
folded, releasing Heinz-Harald Frentzen, it was the German who joined
Bernoldi at Tom Walkinshaw's team and not Verstappen. A furious
Jos started legal proceedings for breach of contract which had not
been resolved even after the team fell apart in the Autumn of 2002.
The good news for 2003 is that Verstappen has joined Minardi, a
Minardi with a competitive Cosworth engine that can once again give
him the opportunity to compete.
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