It’s well-known that Jos Verstappen has dedicated his time and energy to his son Max Verstappen’s racing career. In fact, during the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2008, the former Formula 1 driver was more focused on Max’s kart race than securing his own victory.
In 2008, Peter van Merksteijn participated in Le Mans with the Porsche RS Spyder in the LMP2 class. Along with Jos Verstappen and Jeroen Bleekemolen, the team achieved a resounding victory after 24 hours, placing the entirely Dutch lineup on the top step of the podium.
Divided Attention
Despite the team’s success, not everyone was fully focused on the race. “Jos was only concerned with Max during the race. Max was very young at the time, so he wasn’t competing in the world championship. It wasn’t that important yet, but it was for Jos,” recalls Jeroen Bleekemolen.
“Jos literally asked during the race from the cockpit how Max’s second heat had gone,” Bleekemolen remembers. “Max was already winning everything, but he came second in that race. Jos was clearly not amused while he was driving at 320 km/h on the straight.”
Double Duty
“Jos was discussing over the radio which setup they should have used on the kart. He clearly had some spare capacity while racing at La Sarthe,” Bleekemolen laughs. “It’s not ideal, but he was 100% focused on Max and only then on winning Le Mans.”
