Jos Verstappen crowned champion after 17-year wait as Max takes Nurburgring win

Jos Verstappen, the father of Red Bull driver and reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen, has won the Belgian Rally Championship.

It came on the same day his son won on his GT3 debut in dominant fashion at the Nurburgring Nordschleife on Saturday.

Jos Verstappen crowned Belgian Rally Champion after Max Verstappen dominates GT3 debut

Red Bull driver Verstappen claimed victory along with co-driver Chris Lulham as he returned to the Nurburgring on Saturday to mark the latest step in his burgeoning endurance racing career.

After qualifying in third place, Verstappen seized the lead at the start and established a lead of almost a minute before handing the car over to Lulham for the remainder of the four-hour race.

Lulham managed the lead and crossed the line with a 24.5-second advantage over the opposition.

It marked Verstappen’s third victory of this month following his recent F1 wins in Italy and Azerbaijan.

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And there was double joy in the Verstappen family on Saturday as the Red Bull driver’s father and former F1 driver Jos secured the 2025 Belgian Rally Championship.

Verstappen Sr and co-driver Renaud Jamoul came home third in the East Belgian Rally, the penultimate round of the season.

Verstappen Sr’s result has put him out of reach of nearest challenger Cherain Cedric with one rally to spare.

It marks the 53-year-old’s first title triumph since he won the LMP2 class of the Le Mans Series, the predecessor to the modern World Endurance Championship, in 2008.

Verstappen Sr said: “We are really happy.

“This wasn’t the most interesting of rallies as we kept it save with our tyre choices.

“At the end we did have the right tyres and we were able to be faster, but we took it easy on the final stage.

“We wanted to secure the championship; that was the main goal today.

“You always try to be as prepared as possible and have the right people around you.

“Renaud is, of course, very important in all of this. We enjoy working together and it’s great to fight at the front.

“The enjoyment is there and the results follow. We are competitive, which also helps us enjoy ourselves.”

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