Jos Verstappen

Interesting facts

During his 1994 rookie season at Benetton, a botched fuel-hose connection at the German Grand Prix in Hockenheim set his car ablaze with Verstappen still inside; he escaped with only minor burns to his nose because he'd left his visor slightly open, and the incident led to a mandatory fail-safe cut-off being added to F1 refuelling systems. That same season he took two podiums, in Hungary and Belgium, becoming the first Dutch driver to stand on an F1 podium. Over nearly a decade in F1 he raced for seven different teams (Benetton, Simtek, Footwork, Tyrrell, Stewart, Arrows, Minardi) and never recaptured his 1994 form. He left F1 with a modest record of two podiums and 17 points, but his lasting legacy in motorsport came through his son Max, whom he coached and managed from karting onward - Max went on to become a four-time world champion, far surpassing his father's own achievements. Jos Verstappen raced in Formula 1 from 1994 to 2003, across 8 seasons as a Dutch driver. He scored a total of 17 championship points over his career.