Jos Verstappen

Johannes Franciscus "Jos" Verstappen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈjɔs fɛrˈstɑpə(n)]; born 4 March 1972) is a Dutch racing and rally driver who competes in the European Rally Championship as a privateer. Verstappen competed in Formula One between 1994 and 2003.

Born and raised in Dutch Limburg, Verstappen began competitive kart racing aged eight. After a successful karting career—culminating in two senior European Championships in 1989—Verstappen graduated to junior formulae. He started his career in Formula Opel Lotus, winning the Benelux Championship in 1992. Later that year, he also won the EFDA Nations Cup, representing the Netherlands. Progressing to German Formula Three in 1993, Verstappen won the title in his rookie season with Opel, further winning the Masters of Formula 3.

Signing for Benetton as a test driver in 1994, Verstappen made his Formula One debut at the Brazilian Grand Prix, replacing the injured JJ Lehto to partner Michael Schumacher for the opening two rounds of the season. Verstappen formally replaced Lehto after the Canadian Grand Prix, scoring two podiums in his rookie season before being replaced by Johnny Herbert in Japan. His podium in Hungary made him the first Dutch driver to score a podium finish in Formula One. Verstappen competed for Simtek in 1995 before the team went bankrupt five rounds into the season, returning to his test driver role with Benetton. He became a full-time driver for Footwork in 1996. After non-classified championship finishes in 1997 and 1998 with Tyrrell and Stewart, respectively, Verstappen became a test driver for the Honda project in 1999. He returned to a race seat with Arrows in 2000, competing with them for a further two seasons. After a year hiatus, Verstappen completed his final Formula One season with Minardi in 2003.