Max Verstappen

  • Born: September 30, 1997
  • Place of Birth: Hasselt, Belgium

Background

Max Emilian Verstappen was born in Hasselt, Belgium, on September 30, 1997, as the first son to parents Jos Verstappen and Sophie Kumpen. After his parents separated when Verstappen was young, he went to live with his father, while his sister Victoria stayed with their mother. Although Verstappen’s mother is Belgian and he was born and grew up in Belgium, Verstappen prefers to claim Dutch as his primary nationality, and he competes with a Dutch racing license.

Influenced by his father’s career as a racing driver who competed in Formula One racing, as well as his mother’s professional background in go-kart racing, Verstappen started racing karts when he was a young child, winning championships in the sport before the age of ten. Verstappen continually excelled at the sport, achieving several more milestone victories that demonstrated his versatility and ability at such a young age.

Life’s Work

Having developed a reputation as a racing prodigy, Verstappen began his auto racing career in 2013 at the age of sixteen when he made his debut in the Formula Three series. In 2014, Verstappen continued his rapid rise by joining the Red Bull Junior Team, the development program of Red Bull Racing, one of the leading teams that competes in Formula One. The following year, he became the youngest driver in Formula One history when he made his debut with the Toro Rosso team at just seventeen years old.

In 2016, Verstappen was selected by Red Bull Racing to replace the outgoing driver Daniil Kvyat for the Spanish Grand Prix. Verstappen found immediate success at Red Bull Racing, winning in his debut race with the team. At the age of eighteen years and 228 days, he became the youngest race winner in Formula One history, cementing his skill and status as a rising star.

In subsequent seasons, Verstappen demonstrated his exceptional skill on the track. He delivered impressive performances, often outperforming more experienced drivers. Verstappen became known for his daring overtakes, fearless racing style, and ability to extract the maximum performance from his car. Verstappen’s accomplishments continued in the 2019 and 2020 seasons, when he firmly established himself as a title contender. He consistently challenged the dominant Mercedes team, securing multiple victories and finishing third in the championship standings in both seasons.

In 2021, Verstappen reached new heights in his career. He showcased exceptional consistency, racecraft, and determination when he mounted a fierce championship challenge against legendary Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen achieved a string of victories and closely challenged Hamilton for the title throughout the season in what became one of the most controversial years in the history of the sport.

Going into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final race of the 2021 season, both Verstappen and Hamilton were tied in championship points, meaning the winner of the race would win the 2021 Formula One World Drivers’ Championship. (Drivers earn points throughout the season depending on where they finish in the top ten each race, with first place receiving the most points; the driver at the end of the season with the most points wins the highly coveted championship.) With Hamilton leading in the final laps of the race by a sizeable margin over Verstappen in second place, a safety car following a crash and then the race director’s controversial decision to allow the lapped cars between Verstappen and Hamilton to unlap themselves during the safety car allowed Verstappen to close the distance to Hamilton once the race resumed and ultimately pass him on the final lap of the race to win and become world champion. The result of this race remained highly controversial among fans of the sport over the following years, with an equal number of people viewing Verstappen’s championship title as either a well-earned victory over the course of an extremely competitive season or what should have been Hamilton’s historic eighth championship were it not for the race director’s controversial decision.

After celebrating his 2021 championship and signing a five-year contract extension with Red Bull Racing, Verstappen returned for a dominant 2022 season in which he won a historic fifteen races, which secured him a second consecutive championship. He improved on this performance the following year, winning nineteen races in 2023 and clinching his third straight championship. By this time, Verstappen had established a reputation as the sport’s dominant driver, and going into the 2024 season, he set his sights on matching former Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel’s four straight championship wins between 2010 and 13.

Outside of auto racing, Verstappen competes at “sim” racing, which is racing using software that attempts to accurately simulate auto racing, complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire wear, grip, and suspension settings.

Impact

Besides being the youngest driver to ever compete in Formula One competition, Verstappen became the youngest-ever driver and the first Dutch driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix competition. He scored the first “hat trick” (securing a pole position, running the fastest lap, and overall victory) of his career at the 2021 French Grand Prix and his first “grand slam” (securing a pole position, driving the fastest lap, leading every lap, and overall victory) at the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix. Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner stated: “I have no doubt [Verstappen is] the best we have seen on one of our cars, in terms of outright raw ability and commitment. He’s the best driver we’ve seen.” Verstappen’s dominance over the 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons led many to share these sentiments, with many observers considering him one of the sport’s all-time elite drivers. In September 2022, Verstappen was made an Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau, a civil and military Dutch chivalric order, in recognition of his racing achievements.

Personal Life

Verstappen speaks three languages: Dutch, English and German, the latter of which he learned while karting with Formula One legend Michael Schumacher. Verstappen is a fan of soccer and a supporter of Fútbol Club Barcelona and Philips Sport Vereniging Eindhoven. Verstappen has been publicly dating Brazilian publicist and model Kelly Piquet since January 2021.

Bibliography

Benson, Andrew. “Max Verstappen Declared Winner of Aborted Rain-hit Belgian Grand Prix.” ESPN.com, 29 Aug. 2021, www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/58377097. Accessed 10 May 2023.

“Button Says Verstappen is the Fastest F1 Driver Ever.” ESPN.com, 17 Oct. 2019, www.espn.com/f1/story/‗/id/27867007/verstappen-fastest-f1-driver-ever. Accessed 10 May 2023.

Edmondson, Laurence. “Max Verstappen Signs New Contract to Stay at Red Bull Until 2028.” ESPN.com, 3 Mar. 2022, www.espn.com/f1/story/‗/id/33410775/max-verstappen-signs-new-contract-stay-red-bull-2028. Accessed 10 May 2023.

Kennedy, Alex. "Who Has Won the Most F1 Races in a Single Season?" ESPN, 29 Feb. 2024, www.espn.com/auto/story/‗/id/39623957/who-won-most-f1-races-single-season. Accessed 29 Aug. 2024.

Gray, James. “Max Verstappen: How Father Jos’ Hard-nosed Upbringing Created a Driver Prepared for War with Lewis Hamilton.” iNews.com, 10 Dec. 2021, inews.co.uk/sport/formula-one/max-verstappen-lewis-hamilton-dangerous-driving-1341419. Accessed 8 May 2023.

“Max Verstappen.” Driver Database Website, www.driverdb.com/drivers/max-verstappen/. Accessed 10 May 2023.

“Max Verstappen.” Formula 1 Website, www.formula1.com/en/drivers/max-verstappen.html. Accessed 10 May 2023.

“Max Verstappen.” Red Bull Website, www.redbull.com/us-en/athlete/max-verstappen-bio. Accessed 10 May 2023.

Max Verstappen Official Website, www.verstappen.com. Accessed 10 May 2023.