If such an extreme punishment appears ludicrous, then those who know Jos well from his time racing express no surprise. His fellow racers and competitors speak of a gritty driver, the self-styled “Jos the boss”. Having made Max’s development in racing his full-time job over the past eight years, spending more than £500,000 in the process, it is not difficult to fathom why Verstappen so spectacularly lost his cool. The 42-year-old insists he would do the same if Max made a similar mistake today. “I must say, now, I think it was so good it happened. It made him think so much more than before. It was for me the turning point that he was using his head. It was the very biggest thing I did to him, because I really wanted to show him something.”