Jos Verstappen
Johannes Franciscus " Jos " Verstappen ( born March 4, 1972 in Montfort ) is a Dutch racing driver. He rose in 1994 to the highest automobile racing class Formula 1 and took until 2003 to 107 Grand Prix part. This is not only Verstappen, the Dutchman with most F1 inserts, it is also equipped with a total of 17 World Championship points and two podium ranks of the most successful among them.
- 3.1 Statistics in Formula 1 3.1.1 Individual Results
Career
Karting
In 1982, Verstappen with kart racing and competed in national championships. 1984 and 1986 he won the Dutch championship of juniors. The most successful season had " Jos the Boss ," as he was called later, in 1989, when he went international races and won two European titles.
Formula racing
In 1991, Verstappen into formula racing and learned Huub Rothengatter to know his future manager. Jos tested several formula cars, and revealed his talent.
With the help of sponsors Philips and Marlboro - and thanks to Huub Rothengatter - Verstappen got a place in the 1992 Formula Opel Lotus. He scored two wins and finished the season in seventh place. Together with Martijn Koene Verstappen also won the Nations and the Benelux Cup.
In 1993, Verstappen again in several racing series. In the Formula Atlantic Championship in New Zealand, he finished fourth, won the championship of the German Formula 3 and won it at his home race in Zandvoort.
Due to its good results in the formula series Verstappen denied tests for the Formula 1 team McLaren and Arrows. Jordan offered to Verstappen for the 1994 season under contract.
Formula 1
Despite contract negotiations with other teams signed Verstappen as test driver for Benetton. After JJ Lehto was injured in pre-season tests beginning, Verstappen took over the driving position to Lehto had recovered again for the Grand Prix of San Marino. Lehto collected in the following four races only one championship point, while team-mate Michael Schumacher was on course for the title. Therefore Verstappen again took over the cockpit of Lehto and denied until the end of the season a total of 10 of the 16 championship races, of which he finished two races on the podium. At the Grand Prix of Germany at Hockenheim, began his vehicle when refueling fire. His mechanic had tilted the tank hose during placement, so that leaked gasoline and could ignite. Thanks to the fireproof overalls neither the mechanic nor Verstappen were seriously injured, he suffered some minor burns. Despite his temporary break from racing and the fire accident ended Verstappen the season in tenth place in the World Cup standings.
The following year he launched initially for Simtek. After the GP of Monaco team boss Nick Wirth was forced to declare bankruptcy, so that Verstappen returned again as a test driver for Benetton. In addition, he played during the season tests for the French team Ligier.
In 1996, Verstappen to Arrows and scored in 16 races a championship point. In addition, Verstappen was the official development driver for Bridgestone, the tire manufacturer should enter as a year later in the Formula 1. Since the Arrows team used in 1997 on the services of world champion Damon Hill and Pedro Diniz pay driver, moved to Verstappen Tyrrell. Although he failed in 7 of 17 championship races with technical defects, Verstappen wanted to start in 1998 for team boss Ken Tyrrell. But the new owner British American Tobacco formed his own team and put Verstappen at the door.
It was only in the eighth race of the Formula 1 1998 season Verstappen got a new driver's seat and replaced the Danes January Magnussen at Stewart. At the end of the year Verstappen was there again without cockpit. In 1999, he put in a test year and was the official test driver for Honda, who wanted to return to Formula 1 with its own team. After the death of Harvey Postlethwaite the plans were postponed again.
So Verstappen returned in 2000 back to Arrows and drove two more seasons for the English, in which he won a total of six championship points. His best result was a fourth place at the Grand Prix of Italy. 2002 was Verstappen Arrows again left out and committed, in spite of an existing contract, Heinz -Harald Frentzen. Verstappen then planned to hire as a test driver for Sauber Petronas. After sitting test was recognized there, however, that Verstappen did not fit into the clean because of its height.
In 2003 he returned back again for a season in Formula 1 and started for Minardi. He scored in the GP of France set a best time in the first qualification. Nevertheless, the ways of Minardi and Verstappen parted at the end of the season. A commitment to Jordan fell through, so Verstappen had to end his Formula 1 career.
More motorsport career
After a year break, he began in 2005 for the Netherlands in the A1 Grand Prix series. A highlight of this season was Verstappens 1st place in the Grand Prix of South Africa. Verstappen finished the season in 7th place in the championship. 2007 was Verstappen talking with teams from the American Champ Car World Series, but a cooperation did not materialize.
The following year, Verstappen drove a Porsche RS Spyder in the Le Mans Series for the team Van Merksteijn Motorsport by Equipe Verschuur. Together with Peter van Merksteijn and Jeroen Bleekemolen he could enter four class wins and a second place in the LMP2 category.. Merksteijn Since neither nor Bleekemolen denied the entire season, Verstappen the sole LMP2 champion of the Le Mans Series 2008 Team owner van Merksteijn is thus expressed the end of the year Verstappen:
"Without him I'd never reached this level: He taught me how to drive a ground effect car and helped me to progress Throughout the season "
" Without him I would never have reached this level: He has shown me how to drive a car with ground effect and has helped me to improve myself over the season. "
In addition, he took 15 June 2008 in part for the first time at the 24 -hour race of Le Mans and finished the race, along with Peter van Merksteijn and Jeroen Bleekemolen, on the 10th place overall and class victory in the LMP2.
Beginning of the 2009 season it was announced that Verstappen plan again to compete with Epsilon Euskadi in the 24- hour race at Le Mans and in the Le Mans Series. However, smashed the effort because the team enrolled in a race. The end of May Verstappen testing a Lola - Aston Martin LMP1 for the works team of Aston Martin at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. In the test for the 24- hour race in Le Mans he damaged his car hard and suffered bruises and even a whiplash injury.
Personal
Verstappen was married from 1996 to 2008 with the Belgian Sophie (born Kumpen ) and the couple have a son ( Max) and a daughter. She is a niece of the Belgian Rallycross Champion in 1987, Paul Kumpen, and cousin of the FIA GT racing driver Anthony Kumpen of Hasselt, and was active even for several years as a kart racer. His son Max was 2013 World Kart Champion and two-time European Kart Champion.
2000 Verstappen in Belgium was sentenced to five years in prison with parole because he had done in May 1998 in a fight as part of a kart race in Lanaken a person a fractured skull.