Belgium and the Netherlands have had a nice exchange in the field of F1 in recent years. The Netherlands supplied a top driver named Max and Belgium offered a GP within driving distance. The proportions have grown a bit skewed. The Netherlands has had its own GP for a year, but at the same time the Belgians are trying to claim Max Verstappen. At least, that’s what his father Jos thinks.
In an interview with the Telegraph he says: ‘Everyone wants a piece of Max right now. On the one hand, that’s a nice compliment for him. He is doing incredibly well. In the car, but also outside. He comes across well, has a fresh head and remains himself.’ But the problem is that the Belgian media in particular is being a bit possessive, but only since Verstappen has been winning races.
“So I understand a lot of people are proud. Of course I am, but at some points I have trouble with it. For example, in the eyes of some Belgian media, Max is suddenly Belgian. I think that’s pretty weak. We’ve been racing for years, but until a few months ago little or nothing was written about him in Belgium and now they suddenly claim he is theirs. I absolutely don’t see it that way myself’, Jos tells the Telegraph.
Is Max Verstappen Belgian or Dutch?
Max Verstappen was indeed born in Hasselt in Belgium and his mother Sophie is Belgian. But according to Jos there is no doubt: ‘The situation is that Max has both nationalities, because Sophie and I were married when he was born. Since he races under a Dutch license, he is slightly more Dutch than Belgian. That’s how he feels. If the Netherlands has to play against Belgium, he is for Orange.’
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