After this began Verstappen's record-breaking win streak. He started ninth at the Miami Grand Prix as red flags in qualifying aborted his lap, but passed the drivers ahead including pole-sitter Pérez to win. The next four races, the Monaco, Spanish, Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix, were won comfortably from pole position by Verstappen, including Red Bull's 100th victory in Canada and a sprint win in Austria. He took pole at the British Grand Prix but briefly lost the lead to Lando Norris at the start before regaining the position to win. He qualified 0.003 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but overtook him at the first corner and went on to take victory. He claimed pole and the win in the Belgian Grand Prix sprint and set the fastest qualifying time, but started the race sixth due to an engine component penalty. He went on to overtake Pérez to win the race. He won from pole at the rain-affected Dutch Grand Prix and was victorious again at the Italian Grand Prix despite qualifying behind Carlos Sainz Jr. This victory marked his tenth consecutive win, breaking Sebastian Vettel's record of nine from 2013, and Red Bull's fifteenth consecutive win, a record previously held by McLaren with eleven in 1988.
Max Emilian Verstappen (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɑks vɛrˈstɑ.pə(n)]; born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian and Dutch racing driver competing in Formula One, where he is the 2021, 2022, and 2023 World Champion. He races under the Dutch flag in Formula One for Red Bull Racing.
Max Emilian Verstappen was born on 30 September 1997 in Hasselt, Belgium to Jos Verstappen and Sophie Kumpen [nl]. Verstappen's parents separated when he was young, after which he lived with his father. His younger sister, Victoria, lived with their mother. Verstappen has three younger half-siblings from his father: a sister, Blue Jaye, from Jos's second marriage, and a brother and sister, Jason Jaxx and Mila Faye, from Jos's current marriage.
Abu Dhabi was his fifteenth victory of the year, breaking the record of thirteen race wins in a season shared by Michael Schumacher in 2004 and Sebastian Vettel in 2013. He won the championship with 454 points, beating Lewis Hamilton's 2019 record of 413.
Verstappen started racing in karts at the age of four and competing in championships at the age of seven. In 2005 he competed in the Mini Junior championship of his home province of Limburg, Belgium and won the VAS Championship in the same category. In 2006, he repeated his success. In 2007, Verstappen graduated to the Rotax Max Mini Max class and won the Rotax Max Challenge Belgium and the Dutch Championship in that category. In 2008, racing in a CRG kart entered by his father, Verstappen won the Belgian Cadet Championship, as well as the Rotax Max Challenge Belgium and Benelux Karting Series in Mini Max class. In 2009, Verstappen joined Pex Racing, a CRG customer team. That year, he defended his titles in the Mini Max championships and won the Belgian KF5 Championship.
Verstappen was signed by CRG to race in their factory team and stepped up to international karting in 2010. At the KF3 World Cup, Verstappen finished second to the more experienced Alexander Albon (who would eventually become his Formula One teammate at Red Bull Racing) but beat him at the WSK Euro Series and also won the WSK World Series, beating Robert Vișoiu. He finished fifth in the European Championship and won the WSK Nations Cup as well as the final of the Bridgestone Cup where during a 28 laps' race in the rain he beat Dennis Olsen by over 11 seconds. In 2011, Verstappen won the WSK Euro Series ahead of Esteban Ocon in a Parilla-powered CRG kart. However, it was not a successful year for him, as he finished 14th in the European Championship and got taken out in the World Cup by Charles Leclerc.
In July 2012, it was announced that Verstappen would leave Intrepid. After a short stint with CRG-built Zanardi karts, Verstappen returned to the factory CRG team. He finished second at the World Cup in the KF2 class and competed at the SKUSA SuperNationals in the KZ2 class in a CRG, finishing 21st.
In 2013, Verstappen completed a record-breaking season in karting. Aged 15, Verstappen won the South Garda Winter Cup in KF2 class and WSK Euro and Master Series in KZ class. He won two European Championships and a World Championship (the European and World KF and World KZ championships); an unprecedented feat in the history of the discipline. Verstappen won the 2013 World KZ Championship at Varennes-sur-Allier, France, beating Charles Leclerc and becoming the youngest driver ever to win the KZ World Championship.
Verstappen's first experience in a racing car was at the Pembrey Circuit on 11 October 2013. He drove 160 laps in a Barazi-Epsilon FR2.0–10 Formula Renault car. The car was provided by Dutch team MP Motorsport. He tested for several Formula Renault 2.0 teams in 2013. In December 2013, Verstappen tested a Dallara F311 Formula 3 car run by Motopark Academy. An additional Formula Renault test followed in December at Circuito de Jerez. Driving for Josef Kaufmann Racing, Verstappen went faster than Formula Renault regulars like Steijn Schothorst and Matt Parry. At the Circuit Ricardo Tormo near Valencia, Verstappen set a faster lap time than the more experienced driver Eddie Cheever III.
On 16 January 2014, it was announced Verstappen would make his racing debut in the non-championship Florida Winter Series. On 5 February, at the second race weekend, Verstappen won the race at Palm Beach International Raceway after he started from pole. A few weeks later, Verstappen won his second race of the series at Homestead–Miami Speedway after beating Nicholas Latifi by 0.004 seconds. Following his single-seater debut in the inaugural Florida Winter Series, Verstappen drove in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship for Van Amersfoort Racing. Aged 16, Verstappen scored a record six consecutive victories in the series, and a record ten victories in total, along with eight retirements and one DNS (did not start); placing third in the overall rankings.
During the first practice session at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen replaced Jean-Éric Vergne as part of his preparation for a full-time seat at Toro Rosso in the 2015 season. Aged 17 years and three days, Verstappen was the youngest person in history to participate in a Formula One race weekend. In August 2014, Verstappen joined the Red Bull Junior Team after testing a Formula Renault 3.5 car. He also considered an offer from Mercedes to join their driver development programme.
On 3 October 2014, Verstappen became the youngest driver to participate in a Formula One Grand Prix weekend (17 years, 3 days), driving in FP1 at the Japanese Grand Prix, deputising in place of Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne.
His family has a long association with motor sports: his father is a Dutch former Formula One driver, his Belgian mother competed in karting, and his first cousin once removed, Anthony Kumpen, competed in endurance racing and is a two-time NASCAR Whelen Euro Series champion currently serving as the team manager for PK Carsport in Euro Series. Although Verstappen has a Belgian mother, was born in Belgium and resided in Bree, Belgium, he decided to compete with a Dutch racing licence. He stated he "feels more Dutch", having spent more time with his father than with his mother during his upbringing, and was always surrounded by Dutch people while growing up in Maaseik, a Belgian town at the Dutch border. Verstappen said in 2015: "I actually only lived in Belgium to sleep, but during the day I went to the Netherlands and had my friends there too. I was raised as a Dutch person and that's how I feel." In 2022, however, Verstappen stated that he appreciates both sides and is "half-half at the end of the day".
He competed in Formula One for more than a season before obtaining a road driving licence on his 18th birthday. Verstappen moved to Monaco the day after, in October 2015, and has lived there since and has said it was not for tax reasons. In November 2020, Verstappen bought a Dassault Falcon 900EX aircraft from Virgin Galactic. The aircraft is registered PH-DTF and operated by Exxaero.
On 5 May 2016, following the Russian Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing announced that Verstappen would be replacing Daniil Kvyat from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards, with Kvyat returning to Toro Rosso. According to Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner, "Max has proven to be an outstanding young talent. His performance at Toro Rosso has been impressive so far and we are pleased to give him the opportunity to drive for Red Bull Racing." After qualifying fourth for the Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen rose to second behind teammate Daniel Ricciardo on the opening lap after Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg crashed out of the race. Verstappen took the race lead as he was placed on a two-stop rather than the same three-stop strategy as Ricciardo, and he held off Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen in the later stages of the race to take his first Formula One victory. By doing so he displaced Sebastian Vettel as the youngest driver ever to win a Formula One Grand Prix at the age of 18 years and 228 days.
In 2019 Red Bull switched from Renault to Honda power units. After Ricciardo moved to the Renault team for 2019, Verstappen was joined at Red Bull by Pierre Gasly. Verstappen qualified in fourth and finished third in Australia, the first podium finish for a Honda-powered driver since the 2008 British Grand Prix. Verstappen was on course for a second third-place finish in Bahrain before a late safety car prevented him from overtaking Charles Leclerc's ailing Ferrari, keeping him in fourth place. Two more fourth-place finishes followed in China and Azerbaijan, and a podium in Spain in third place. In Monaco, Verstappen qualified in third place. He was released into the path of Valtteri Bottas during the drivers' pit stops, gaining second place but receiving a 5-second penalty as a result. Verstappen crossed the line in second place but was demoted to fourth by the penalty.
In 2019, former Formula One World Champion Jenson Button stated that he believes Verstappen is the fastest Formula One driver ever: "I think he is the fastest driver that has ever driven an F1 car. I really do, I think he is unbelievably fast." Journalist Scott Mitchell from The Race commented: "When everything comes together, Verstappen is the quickest driver in F1 over one lap, but the odd mistake and scruffy session must be eliminated." Helmut Marko, head of Red Bull's driver development programme, stated that Verstappen is the fastest driver Red Bull have ever had. In 2021, three-time Formula One World Champion Jackie Stewart claimed that Verstappen is the fastest driver in Formula One, but he also added that Verstappen is still in the "puppy stage" of his career. Peter Windsor, an experienced Formula One journalist, expressed Verstappen's ability to change direction "quicker than anybody else" through the high-speed section Maggots and Becketts: Silverstone's fastest sequence of corners. Windsor stressed that Verstappen's lightning-quick change of direction is a result of the innate feel he has for creating the "perfect platform" to achieve what he wants with the car during a lap. He is intrinsically able to create, for "a trillionth of a second", a minuscule "flat area" between the left and the right of a change of direction ahead of him, in order to attain a stable balance with the car before applying the next steering and throttle input. Scuderia AlphaTauri's team principal, Franz Tost, declared Verstappen to be the fastest driver in Formula One; following the Dutchman's "really deserved" maiden title triumph in 2021. On the subject of sim racing, Verstappen was deemed the "fastest" driver by IndyCar racer and former Formula One driver Romain Grosjean.
On 3 August 2019, Verstappen became the first Dutch Formula One driver to take pole position, doing so at the Hungarian Grand Prix, while also becoming the 100th polesitter in the sport's history.
In 2020, Verstappen signed a contract extension to race for Red Bull until the end of 2023.
Verstappen continued to race for Red Bull in 2020, alongside Albon. At the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix, he started second, but retired early in the race after a flywheel-related problem caused an electronic issue within the power unit. Honda introduced countermeasures in response to the retirement.
Former Formula One driver Gerhard Berger echoed Jenson Button's recent comments, anointing Max Verstappen as the Formula One driver of this era with the most raw talent. Speaking to Sport1, Berger ventured: “When it comes to raw talent, Max Verstappen is the most talented of all. But it’s not just about raw talent, it’s about the whole package. That means it’s not just about setting the fastest laps but also to win a race. And not just [about] one race but many and eventually a championship, and championships." Two-time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso commented that Verstappen is the standout driver in Formula One, declaring the Red Bull star to be "one step ahead" of everyone. Alonso noted that Verstappen deserved to win the Formula One drivers’ championship in Abu Dhabi, ahead of the title decider that saw the Dutchman and Lewis Hamilton enter level on points: “Mercedes lately have been more performing and they’ve won a couple of races now, but Max is driving – in my opinion – one step ahead of all of us. We saw the [qualifying] lap in Jeddah, until he touched the wall at the last corner, that lap was coming from Max, not the Red Bull." Former Formula One Driver Karun Chandhok likened Verstappen's ruthless and uncompromising attitude in race combat to Michael Schumacher's unyielding and iron-willed style of racing. Verstappen was ranked first in the annual Formula One team principals’ top ten drivers ranking in 2021.
In 2021, Verstappen was voted the most popular Formula One driver in an official survey. He has a fan made song, "Super Max!" performed by Pitstop Boys [nl]. The song went viral after his 2021 championship victory, reaching number two in the UK Spotify viral charts and fifth in the global one.
In his free time, Verstappen enjoys sim racing. Having taken part in many sim racing competitions, Verstappen stated that it helps him with his real life racing keeping him "ready to go". Verstappen is a member of Team Redline; a multinational sim racing team. Verstappen is a supporter of FC Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven. Verstappen speaks three languages, Dutch, English and German, the latter of which he learned while karting with Michael Schumacher. In September 2022, he was made an Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau in recognition of his racing achievements. Verstappen has been dating Kelly Piquet publicly since January 2021.
On 23 May 2021, Verstappen became the first Dutch Formula One driver to lead the World Championship after winning the Monaco Grand Prix.
After winning ten Grands Prix during the 2021 season, Verstappen became Formula One World Drivers' Champion for the first time, being the first Dutch driver and the 34th driver to do so. He won the next two consecutive Formula One championships in 2022 and 2023. As of the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, Verstappen has had 57 victories, 37 pole positions and 32 fastest laps. In addition to being the youngest Grand Prix winner, he holds several Formula One records, including the most wins in a season, the highest percentage of wins in a season, and the most consecutive wins. Verstappen is set to remain at Red Bull until at least the end of the 2028 season after signing a contract extension.
In 2022, Verstappen was named the winner of the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year.
In March 2022, Verstappen signed a five-year contract extension with Red Bull Racing for the 2023 to 2028 seasons.
Another fan-made song, titled "33 Max Verstappen", was released on February 10, 2023. Produced by Carte Blanq and Maxx Power, the EDM track went viral on TikTok due to memes referencing the "Tu tu tu du, Max Verstappen"-chant in the chorus of the song.