Max Verstappen credits his F1 success to his father, whose efforts molded him into a World Championship-winning driver. Max, however, could have become a winner in another sport. Unfortunately for him, his dad Jos discouraged him from pursuing it.

Jos was an F1 driver, whose biggest glory in the sport came when he stood on the podium, twice. As such, he wanted Max to fulfill the dream he couldn’t realize – becoming an F1 Champion. As a result, Jos didn’t allow his son to take up soccer, which he showed much interest in, aside from karting. This was revealed by Max’s mother Sophie Kumpen.

As seen in a video, Kumpen goes through a photo album that captures memories from Max’s childhood. In one of the pictures, a young Max can be seen with a soccer ball in his hand, wearing a full FC Barcelona kit. Kumpen said, “Max has been playing football for a while. He was already playing cards and he loved to play football. But Jos didn’t like it at all.”

Max in the Barcelona kit is a foreshadowing of sorts. Years later, in 2016, the Dutchman won his first-ever F1 race at the Spanish GP held in that city. Things could have been very different had Jos allowed Max to pursue soccer.

Jos was very strict with Max in his childhood because he wanted to see his son make it big in F1. But he never actively forced him into racing, contrary to some claims.

Jos did not force Max Verstappen into racing
Max was naturally talented as a racer, but thanks to his father’s work from early on, he stood out even in his younger days.

Today, when stories of how harshly Jos treated his son come up, many wonder if he actually wanted to be a racer, or whether he would comply with his father’s wishes in fear of consequences. Max, however, ridiculed these claims and insisted that he had been into racing since his karting days. It was he who forced his parents into buying him his first go-kart.

Max saw his mother drive in karting and his father compete in F1 which is what piqued his interest. Jos asked him to wait until he was six years old, but Max’s persistence got him a kart when he was just three.

The three-time World Champion said, as quoted by Planet F1, In general, it’s good for a child to play sports, but it’s up to them to choose what they want to do. That’s what happened to me.”

Verstappen might’ve not predicted what he was signing himself up for but the interest is genuine and the talent is natural.