Vettel questions Verstappen's upbringing: 'Our childhood is fundamental'

F1 News

6 October 2022 at 18:01
Last update 6 October 2022 at 19:39
  • GPblog.com

It is well known that Max Verstappen had a rough upbringing with father Jos Verstappen. Sebastian Vettel has questioned the methods of Verstappen senior. According to the four-time world champion, someone's childhood is fundamental.

Verstappen worked hard in his youth to achieve a career in Formula 1. Father Jos sometimes used a tough-love method to bring up his son, as stories have often surfaced about the former F1 driver's methods.

For instance, Verstappen senior has already publicly patted his son's helmet after a bad session. Also, at a young age, the 25-year-old driver was once left at the petrol station by his father after an incident and was picked up a few minutes later by mother Sophie Kumpen.

Vettel questions Verstappen's upbringing

So it is no secret that Verstappen senior did not make things easy for his son. However, Vettel questions the way Father Jos raised his son. "I didn’t get beaten up. But if you do get beaten up your whole life, does that work? Or does it work to be loved and explained the ways of how the world works?", he says in conversation with Road and Track.

"If you compare the two, who is more resilient? Is resilience fighting back like somebody hits you, you hit back? Or is resilience strength in understanding what just happened, reflecting and taking things on from there?", the Aston Martin driver continues.

As a father of three, Vettel realises how important parenting is. In the interview, the four-time world champion says he faces challenges every day. According to the 35-year-old driver, childhood is fundamental because it determines how a person handles situations later on in life. "So much can be done right, and so much can be done wrong.”