Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Formula 1, Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen
Marcus Chan
Former Red Bull driver who criticised Max Verstappen's father is now living a very different life after his Formula 1 career ended.
Back in 2009, Jaime Alguersuari made history by becoming the youngest F1 driver of all time as he made his Toro Rosso debut at the Hungarian Grand Prix aged 19 years and 125 days.
The Spaniard went on to score 31 points from 46 races as he spent three years at the pinnacle of motorsports.
However, his F1 career came to a halt in 2011 after being dropped for Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne.
As reported by The Express, Alguersuari has since made a drastic career change as he now owns a recording studio in Barcelona and has been a DJ in nightclubs around Europe. He previously told the Daily Star: "I make music, I travel going into clubs and meeting new people and this is the person who I am. I don’t regret anything."
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Over the years, Alguersuari has made headlines after doing interviews with different publishers.
In 2023, the Spaniard was critical of the Verstappen family when speaking to AS.
Alguersuari was far from impressed with the way Jos brought up Max, who clinched his fourth world title in 2024.
He said: "It’s the exception that proves the rule. His father taught him, through violence, to win races.
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"That’s how he was trained. There was no luck. They pushed him so far that they ended up with a perfect driver. His father used violence when Max did not win in karting. I would never raise my son like that. It was shameful, but it worked for them."
Verstappen took over from Alguersuari as F1's youngest-ever driver after the Dutchman made his debut at the age of just 17 years and 166 days.
Aside from Verstappen Snr, Alguersuari did not see eye-to-eye with Red Bull director Helmut Marko.
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The 34-year-old added: "I went to greet him at Silverstone, but he didn’t pay much attention to me. He told me I had become a famous DJ, and I replied that it wasn’t true. It was a strange feeling for me because I felt at ease in a place where I had been ill and didn’t enjoy myself. Coming back in a more relaxed and calm way made me put an end to a bad dream I had.
"However, seeing everything so close again, I had flashbacks of moments of anguish, and Carlos [Sainz] knows what I’m talking about because he experienced it first-hand. The Toro Rosso wasn’t a competitive car, but no one in the team gave importance to good results.
"It was frustrating. I don’t think it’s bad to be pushed to the limit by a junior team because it’s part of the selection process. The problem is that you are removed for a commercial and political decision, and whoever replaces you does worse. I’m talking about facts."