Jos Verstappen renews rallying invitation to Max Verstappen

Jos Verstappen has once again invited Max Verstappen to try rallying first-hand, after the Red Bull driver repeatedly made it clear that he has little appetite for the discipline.

“No, racing in a GT3 at the Nürburgring, that's nice and safe...” Jos said sarcastically in an interview with Formule 1 Magazine. “He should just come and do it once, so here goes Max... [he added, in invitation] And then he'll talk differently about it.”

Max Verstappen’s concerns remain unchanged

Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast, he explained his stance clearly.

“I just think about if I make a mistake and I hit a tree...the tree is not moving, and that for me is like my limit,” he said. He contrasted that with Formula 1, where “most of the time when you crash, there is a properly-designed barrier that should absorb the impact a bit more.”

Jos acknowledged that his son’s concern is understandable, but argued that the view from inside a rally car is different from the perspective of an outsider.

“He always talks about the trees and so on, but at a certain point you don't see those trees anymore,” Jos explained. “You know they're there. You take them into account. But you don't focus on them. However, you know they're there, and that's important.”

Risk management, not recklessness

Jos also stressed that rallying is not simply about attacking stages with no regard for danger. In his view, experience shapes how a driver approaches risk, and pace notes are central to that process.

Pace notes give drivers detailed information about the road ahead, helping them prepare for corners, changes in surface and potential hazards before they arrive. That preparation, Jos said, is what allows rally drivers to tackle unfamiliar roads at speed while keeping danger in check.

“There are places on a stage where you're a bit more cautious,” he said. “If there's a dangerous situation, then you're more careful. But you learn all that to incorporate it into your notes.”

The two-time Formula 1 podium finisher also suggested that his own judgment around risk would have been different earlier in life.

“I do think you take more risks when you're 29 years old,” he admitted.

The invitation stands

Jos’s comments carry added weight given his own recent rallying incidents. At the Rally of Scandinavia in May 2025, he rolled his Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 while leading the Master ERC classification. He and co-driver Renaud Jamoul escaped unscathed, but chose not to restart.

He has also crashed at the Ypres Rally and hit a tree stump at approximately 130 kilometres per hour at the Rally of Wervik.

Whether Max Verstappen will accept the invitation remains uncertain. For now, though, Jos has made his position unmistakable: the offer is there, and as he put it, it now stands in black and white.