Lorenzo Pastuglia
“The Abu Dhabi victory? I cried on the entry lap. Racing means a lot to me, they are my whole life, the ultimate goal ”, he confessed visibly moved Max Verstappen Sunday evening. Accompanied for the whole weekend in Yas Marina by his father Jos and his mother Sophie Kumpen, both former pilots and separated in 2008. Also present were his sister Victoria Jane and his girlfriend Kelly Piquet, daughter of the legendary champion Nelson. “A moment I will never forget, very special for the whole family,” said the award-winning son. His efforts as a boy were eventually recognized, despite a difficult childhood: “My family had to live for me. I probably cost my father the wedding. My sister missed both me and him, because he was always with me ”.
Learning from defeats
In fact, Max spent most of his childhood traveling with his father Jos on go-kart tracks, also giving priority to racing over his studies: “I was born to race, but my parents never pressured me, they never needed to introduce myself. When you grow up and see everything going on around you, you say, ‘I’d love to try this!’ ”. The teaching of his dad, rather tough, proved to be fundamental: “One day he told me ‘You will know what losing means and it will hurt you’ – concluded Max – I have always won with go-karts and when I lost I cried, because I hate losing. I think it’s a good mindset, but you have to be respectful of the person who beats you. It takes difficult moments to be a better rider ”.
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