Max Verstappen’s dad Jos, 54, involved in ‘violent’ crash as his car smashes into a tree at rally event in Belgium
Jos Verstappen, father of four-time Formula 1 world champion Max, survived Sunday’s horror rally in Belgium.
The 54-year-old driver was forced to withdraw from the Rallye de Wallonie after losing control of his car and crashing into a tree.
Verstappen Sr was Belgium’s reigning national rally champion and was racing without his regular co-driver Renaud Jamoul.
Instead he was partnered with Jasper Vermeulen and luckily both drivers escaped the wreck unscathed. In the images taken from the accident scene, it is seen that the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 overturned near the trees, its wheel broke off and serious damage occurred.
The route is reportedly high-speed and very challenging, with fast straights as well as narrow, winding sections.
“It was a violent accident that caused his Skoda to roll over,” organizers said on Facebook. ‘The crew is fine but the car is badly damaged and retirement is inevitable.’
Jos Verstappen was involved in a car accident after hitting a tree at the Rallye de Wallonie in Belgium.
Verstappen (left), 54, father of four-time F1 world champion Max (right)
Jos Verstappen made his name in Formula 1 in the mid-1990s and early 2000s, also competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (LMP2 class), which he won in 2008, before turning to rallying.
In May last year he avoided a major crash at the Royal Scandinavian Rally in Sweden, part of the FIA European Rally Championship.
Verstappen admitted they entered the corner ‘too quickly’, then crashed into a ditch and flipped their Skoda, breaking the windscreen and causing other damage.
He and navigator Jamoul retired from the race but luckily escaped unscathed after Verstappen made a third start on unfamiliar gravel.
Verstappen admitted at the time: “I think I went into the corner a little bit too fast and then I missed the apex, the inside of the corner, I was on loose gravel and I was on the grass and I couldn’t get into the corner.”
Max’s father was also a regular on the F1 pit lanes, where he was vocal in last season’s infamous Christian Horner incident.
Verstappen said of Horner: “There is tension here as long as he remains in that position.” ‘The team is in danger of disbanding. ‘This cannot continue like this.’
It comes as former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell’s husband is fighting for his future at Red Bull amid allegations of inappropriate behavior towards a female staff member, which he has denied.
Horner officially resigned as Red Bull Racing team principal and CEO on September 22 last year.
