Max Verstappen’s dad, 53, suffers nasty crash as his car flips over during rally – with health update revealed after he drove ‘too quick’

• Max Verstappen’s father Jos suffered a nasty crash on Friday afternoon
• He and his co-driver were racing on a fast-paced gravel track in Sweden
• The 53-year-old explained what happened after flipping over in the rally car 

By LUKE POWER

Max Verstappen’s father Jos survived a dramatic crash on Friday as his rally car flipped over.

Disaster struck for the former F1 driver, 53, as he was competing in the Royal Rally of Scandinavia in Sweden – part of the FIA European Rally Championship.

He and navigator Renaud Jamoul started well – they were 18th overall and best out of the Master classification – but they came unstuck on stage nine. 

Verstappen admitted they entered a corner ‘too quick’ before ending up in a ditch and rolling over in their Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, cracking the windscreen and causing other damage. 

The duo retired from the race but fortunately escaped unscathed after what was only Verstappen’s third-ever start on an unfamiliar gravel surface. 

‘I think I went a little bit too quick into the corner and then I missed the apex, the inside of the corner, I was in the loose gravel, on full grass and I couldn’t make the corner,’ Verstappen admitted.

Max Verstappen’s father Jos suffered a nasty crash on Friday but emerged unscathed 

He cracked the windscreen of his car and caused other damage, being forced to retire 

The 53-year-old is the father of four-time F1 World Drivers’ Champion Max Verstappen

‘The rear wheels went into the ditch and the car rolled. Very easy to happen in this kind of rally. It happens, from what I have seen on the videos, a lot. It was a typical Sweden roll. I flipped it and I was back on the four wheels.

‘The roll cage is all fine but the front was a little bit damaged, there was some rear damage and one damper was broken. Because Poland is coming so quickly and my feeling wasn’t that good in the car in this particular rally so we want to check everything instead of keep going. Every crash should be a lesson but it’s a typical thing for here. 

‘I must say I really enjoyed it, the way of driving. Obviously these people from these countries they used to that, the only driving they do is on these kind of stages. 

‘For sure, and definitely at my age, if I have to change the style after 45 years of racing it’s not so easy. 

‘It’s a completely different thing and of course the age doesn’t help. But I really enjoy it, I can also enjoy from the people in front how they’re pushing and things like that. I’m happy what I see and hopefully I can improve a little bit more.’

This was Verstappen’s first time on the fast-paced gravel roads of Sweden’s Varmland.

Despite leaving F1 behind in 2003, he still makes plenty of time to put himself to the test in various races and he is committed to the full European rally season. 

Of course, lots of his time is still devoted to overseeing the development of his son, the four-time World Drivers’ Champion.

He was in Monaco over the weekend to watch as Max came home fourth, despite leading much of the race due to the mandated two-stop system. 

Jos is also an outspoken voice on issues inside the Formula One world, particularly when it comes to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. 

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Max Verstappen’s dad, 53, suffers nasty crash as his car flips over during rally – with health update revealed after he drove ‘too quick’

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