From his years in kart racing during the early 1980s, Jos Verstappen dominated virtually every series he entered thereafter. Not surprisingly, as he won the German F3 championship in 1993, Formula One team bosses began fighting over him to enter him in the pinnacle of international motor racing. His almost 10-year-long stint in F1 brought many bitter and sweet experiences, but sadly all-too-often the former. His entrance to F1 saw the rise in his popularity and the growth of his Dutch fan club - one the of the largest racing driver followings in the world.
In Formula 1, Verstappen is remembered as a driver who had much potential but sadly rarely gained a consistent stint with a top team. And when he did join a top-team - Benetton in 1994 - he was merely a rookie and did well to finish 3rd twice. He shined when he could in usually slower team cars, usually bettering him team mates. 1995 and 1996 were to bring random bursts of success and Jos managed to pull off the odd surprise in lower to mid-field team tars. After his F1 racing come-back in 2000 with the Arrows team, he made the most over-taking moves of any other driver with them in 2001, reminding us all of his distinctive racing style; willing to take risks and get stuck in - even if it meant the odd collision!
Since his retirement from F1, Verstappen emerged as a contender to kick-start the A1 Grand Prix series (also dubbed the World Cup of Motorsport) in 2005 and won the South African Grand Prix in 2006.
Leaving A1-GP, Jos then went to the international Le Mans series and was an instant success, winning 3 races that season and clinching the Driver's championship for his series!
1. He's Dutch - The Dutch are remarkably supportive and Jos has a massive following from his home land. He has one of the largest fan groups of all racing drivers and when Jos was booted out of F1 by Arrows in 2002, F1 viewing figures in Holland dropped dramtically. Also, he's popular with Dutch business and sponsorship. When Arrows dropped him, Dutch IT sponsor 'Trust' pulled out in support of Jos. In 2003 with Minardi, three big Dutch businesses made up a large proportion of sponsorship funds for the team. Of course, Jos has many fans from accross the world as well but at F1 races, you would often see a band of Verstappen's orange-clad fans.
2. He's experienced - Verstappen is now one of the most experienced drivers of the field. He was involved in F1 from 1993 to 2003. He is respected by many in the motorsport world. He is naturally quick and an excellent over-taker and entertaining to watch. Over the years in F1, Jos pulled many a surprise in often lower to mid-field machinery; qualifying 14th in an under-powered Simtek at Buenos Aires in 1995, out-racing the Ferrari's and McLarens in his Arrows during 1996 and occasionally mixing amongst the top three in his Arrows team car in 2000 and 2001. He even put his Minardi on Pole Position after the Friday Qualifiying session for the French Grand Prix in 2003 stunning the F1 world! After F1 he's moved on to A1 Grand Prix and Le Mans with success and his experience is truly remarkable.
3. He's repected - Unknown to many, Jos enjoys a very good friendship with five-times world champion, Michael Schumacer who had previously stated that Jos deserved to be racing in F1 with a good team. Other close racing companions include Mika Salo and Pedro de la Rosa. Verstappen was well regarded by former Tyrrell F1 Team boss Ken Tyrrell and had a strong friendship with former Minardi F1 team owner Paul Stoddart.
