Verstappen was married to the Belgian ex-kart driver Sophie Kumpen, with whom he has two children: Max (b. 1997) and Victoria. Max is currently competing in the Formula 3 Euro Series, and will drive for the Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 team in 2015.[30] In December 2008, with the couple effectively separated, it was reported that he has appeared in court in Tongeren, Belgium, charged with assaulting her.[31] He was not found guilty of assault, but was found guilty of threatening her in text messages and violating a previous restraining order. He was fined and was sentenced to three months probational suspended jail time.[32]
Verstappen had been previously convicted of assault in October 2000 over an incident at a karting track in 1998, in which a man suffered a fractured skull. He and his father were given five-year suspended sentences after reaching an out-of-court settlement with the victim.[33] On 29 November 2011 the media reported allegations that he assaulted his ex-girlfriend; Verstappen claimed to only have had a discussion with her.[34] In January 2012, he was arrested on attempted murder charges following accusations that he drove a car into his ex-girlfriend in Roermond,[35] but released two weeks later, after the charge was withdrawn.
