A new documentary exploring Max Verstappen’s life in the lead up to his consecutive world title wins has been released, giving a never before seen insight into the Dutchman.
‘Max: Anatomy of a Champion’ looks behind the curtain to explore what made Verstappen the Formula 1 star he is today.
Amid the topics explored is the treatment of Max by his father Jos during his upbringing, something which has led to accusations of “abuse.”
An incident that has been in the spotlight saw Verstappen be abandoned at a petrol station after losing a karting championship.
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The alleged abandonment followed a 2012 race at the Sarno circuit in Italy, where Verstappen had been chasing victory in a battle with rival Daniel Bray.
Making a risky move in an attempt to take the lead, Verstappen made contact with his rival’s kart and crashed out of the event.
“I stayed in the lead at the start,” Verstappen explained in the documentary.
“But then I got passed. I was so upset that I got overtaken that in that same lap I tried to pass the guy back in a place which is just totally unnecessary.
“My dad was just so upset with me doing that stupid move. I basically threw everything away.
“I then started to try to talk to him afterwards in the van, trying to travel home for 17 hours.
“He didn’t want to talk to me. And at one point, he was just so fed up with it. He said ‘get out’. He stopped at the fuel station, he was like ‘you get out’. And then he drove off,” Verstappen said.
Jos has now responded to the claims that his actions amounted to abuse of the then-14-year-old.
“People say how a bad father I was to him to abuse your child,” he said, defending himself.
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“I never abused him.
“I was teaching him.
“I was hard on him, that mistake, and that was also my plan on that to learn. To think. A lot of people have no idea what you have to do to arrive at the top of a sport.”