185 Facts About Max Verstappen

Aged 17, Max Verstappen signed for Toro Rosso in 2015 as part of the Red Bull Junior Team, becoming the youngest driver in Formula One history at the Australian Grand Prix.

On debut for Red Bull, aged 18, Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix, becoming the youngest-ever driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen achieved multiple race wins in his 2017 and 2018 campaigns, before finishing third in both the 2019 and 2020 World Drivers' Championships under Honda power.

Max Verstappen won his maiden title in 2021 after overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the last race of the season, becoming the first World Drivers' Champion from the Netherlands.

Max Verstappen won the next two championships in 2022 and 2023, overturning the largest points deficit in Formula One history in the former and breaking numerous records across both seasons.

Max Verstappen secured his fourth consecutive title in 2024 after winning nine Grands Prix, including a widely acclaimed wet-weather performance in Sao Paulo, to become the first driver to win the championship driving for a third-placed constructor in 41 years.

Max Verstappen is contracted to remain at Red Bull until at least the end of the 2028 season.

Max Verstappen was listed in the 2024 issue of Time as one of the 100 most influential people globally, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau in 2022.

Max Emilian Verstappen was born on 30 September 1997 in Hasselt, Belgium to Jos Verstappen and Sophie Kumpen.

Max Verstappen's parents separated when he was young, after which he lived with his father.

Max Verstappen has three younger half-siblings from his father: a sister from Jos's second marriage and a brother and sister from Jos's current marriage.

Max Verstappen's 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.

Max Verstappen initially attended a secondary school in Maaseik, before moving into private tutoring; he admitted that he used to leave class early to attend races across Europe with his father.

Max Verstappen started racing in karts at the age of four and competing in championships at the age of seven.

In 2009, Max Verstappen joined Pex Racing, a CRG customer team.

Max Verstappen was signed by CRG to race in their factory team and stepped up to international karting in 2010.

At the KF3 World Cup, Max Verstappen finished second to the more experienced Alexander Albon but beat him at the WSK Euro Series and won the WSK World Series, beating Robert Visoiu.

Max Verstappen 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, Max Verstappen won the WSK Euro Series ahead of Esteban Ocon in a Parilla-powered CRG kart.

Max Verstappen won the WSK Master Series in the KF2 class, beating the CRG driver Felice Tiene.

Max Verstappen won the South Garda Winter Cup in the KF2 class, beating Dennis Olsen and Antonio Fuoco.

Max Verstappen was the youngest driver taking part in the World Championship in KF1 class and finished eight.

In July 2012, it was announced that Max Verstappen would leave Intrepid.

Max Verstappen 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, Max Verstappen completed a record-breaking season in karting, having progressed to the senior KF and KZ categories.

Max Verstappen became the first driver since his father Jos to win two European Championships in the same season, and the first to do so in both the primary direct-drive and gearbox classes.

Max Verstappen won the South Garda Winter Cup in KF2, as well as the WSK Euro Series and the WSK Super Master Series in KZ1 and KZ2, respectively.

Max Verstappen tested for several Formula Renault 2.0 teams in 2013.

In December 2013, Max Verstappen tested a Dallara F311 Formula 3 car run by Motopark Academy.

At the Circuit Ricardo Tormo near Valencia, Max Verstappen set a faster lap time than the more experienced driver Eddie Cheever III.

On 16 January 2014, it was announced Max Verstappen would make his racing debut in the non-championship Florida Winter Series.

Aged 17 years and three days, Max Verstappen was the youngest person in history to participate in a Formula One race weekend.

Max Verstappen considered an offer from Mercedes to join their driver development programme.

At the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix, Max Verstappen was involved in a high-speed collision with Romain Grosjean, after clipping the back of Grosjean's Lotus on the approach to the tight first corner, Sainte Devote, and crashed into the barriers at high speed.

Max Verstappen was given a five-place grid penalty for causing the accident, and was branded "dangerous" by Williams driver Felipe Massa.

Max Verstappen continued to regularly finish in the points as well as achieving his best finish of the 2015 season in Hungary by finishing fourth, and equalled this result at the United States Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen began the 2016 season at Toro Rosso, again alongside Sainz.

Max Verstappen enjoyed a more successful weekend at the following race in Bahrain, finishing sixth to score Toro Rosso's first-ever points at the Sakhir circuit.

On 5 May 2016, following the Russian Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing announced that Max Verstappen would be replacing Daniil Kvyat from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards, with Kvyat returning to Toro Rosso.

Max 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 Raikkonen in the later stages of the race to take his first Formula One victory.

Max Verstappen then made several overtakes in quick succession during the closing laps to eventually finish on the podium in third place.

However, Max Verstappen came under criticism from four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who stated that Max Verstappen had pushed him off the track at the Juncao corner late in the race.

Max Verstappen won his second Formula One race at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix, a day after his 20th birthday, passing then three-time champion Lewis Hamilton for the lead in the early stages of the race.

Max Verstappen finished second in the following race in Japan.

Max Verstappen then finished third at the United States Grand Prix, but was classified fourth after his final lap overtake on Kimi Raikkonen was deemed illegal.

Max Verstappen won his third Formula One race at the Mexican Grand Prix, after passing Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap.

Max Verstappen recovered to eventually finish the race in sixth place.

Max Verstappen had a productive first lap after which he found himself in the points while challenging Lewis Hamilton.

Max Verstappen attempted an overtake on the reigning World Champion at the start of lap two, but collided with the Mercedes driver and suffered a puncture that ultimately led to suspension damage, forcing him out of the race.

Max Verstappen recovered to fourth place, with his penalty causing him to be classified fifth.

Max Verstappen bounced back in Spain with his first podium of the season by finishing third behind the Mercedes drivers, holding off Sebastian Vettel.

In Monaco, Max Verstappen made another error and crashed near the end of the third free practice session in an incident which closely resembled a crash he had at the same spot two years earlier.

Max Verstappen did not compete and did not set a lap time in qualifying, therefore teammate Ricciardo pressed home Red Bull's advantage at the track by taking pole position and the race win.

Max Verstappen managed to salvage two points by finishing ninth place, overtaking six cars on track.

Max Verstappen now lay in sixth place in the championship with 35 points, only three points ahead of Fernando Alonso in the McLaren, and 37 points behind his teammate in third, who had taken two wins in the first six races.

In Canada, Max Verstappen topped all three practice sessions and qualified third, two-tenths off Sebastian Vettel in pole position.

Max Verstappen eventually finished third and set the fastest lap of the race.

In Britain, Max Verstappen was plagued by issues, finishing the first practice session early due to a gearbox problem and crashing in the second practice session before retiring from the race due to a brake problem.

Max Verstappen ended the first half of the season with a retirement in Hungary and was narrowly behind his teammate in the championship due to his own recent resurgence and Ricciardo's unreliability.

Max Verstappen enjoyed a very strong second half of the season, achieving podium finishes in Belgium, Singapore, Japan and the United States, the latter of which he achieved second place having started from 18th on the grid due to a suspension failure in qualifying.

Max Verstappen had a better start than Ricciardo and took the lead of the race into the first corner, overtaking the fast-starting Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.

Max Verstappen was poised to win the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix, having overtaken Raikkonen, Vettel, Bottas, and Hamilton.

Max Verstappen then finished his season with another podium as he finished third in Abu Dhabi.

Max Verstappen ended the season in fourth place in the championship with 249 points, claiming two wins, eleven podium finishes, and two fastest laps.

Max 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.

Max Verstappen 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.

Max Verstappen crossed the line in second place but was demoted to fourth by the penalty.

In Britain, Max Verstappen, running in third place, was hit from behind during an overtake attempt by Sebastian Vettel and spun into the gravel.

Max Verstappen was able to continue and crossed the line in fifth place.

Max Verstappen would go on to extend his lead after the track began to dry, claiming his second victory of the season.

Max Verstappen suffered a puncture early in the race after making contact with Bottas, falling to the back of the field before eventually recovering to sixth place.

Max Verstappen ended the season with a second-place finish in Abu Dhabi.

Max Verstappen finished the 2019 season in third place in the championship with 278 points.

Max Verstappen claimed three race victories, nine podium finishes, two pole positions, and three fastest laps.

Max Verstappen continued to race for Red Bull in 2020, alongside Albon.

Max Verstappen won the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone, having started from fourth.

Max Verstappen clinched second place at the Spanish Grand Prix, after qualifying in third.

Max Verstappen suffered from two consecutive DNFs at the Italian and Tuscan Grands Prix after which he lost second place in the Championship.

At the Russian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen finished the race in second, his seventh podium finish of 2020.

At the Eifel Grand Prix, Max Verstappen finished in second after qualifying in third.

Max Verstappen managed to get the fastest lap of the race.

Max Verstappen recovered to third and took his 40th podium in Formula 1.

At the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Max Verstappen looked set to claim second due to Valtteri Bottas' ailing Mercedes slowing down, but a sudden puncture denied him any chance of a podium finish; Max Verstappen spun, resulting in his fourth retirement of the 2020 season.

Max Verstappen admitted following the session that the word choices he used were "not correct".

Max Verstappen finished the 2020 season in third place in the championship with 214 points.

Max Verstappen claimed two race victories, eleven podium finishes, one pole position, and three fastest laps.

At the Bahrain Grand Prix, Max Verstappen topped all the practice sessions and subsequently took a career fourth pole position.

Max Verstappen fought Lewis Hamilton for the race victory, and on lap 53 Verstappen overtook Hamilton, but went off track whilst doing so, resulting in him being instructed by race control to let Hamilton back into the lead and ultimately finishing second behind Hamilton.

At the race start, Max Verstappen was able to pass both Perez and pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton to take the lead.

Max Verstappen remained in the lead after the first round of pit stops as well as the restart, following the race being suspended on lap 33.

Hamilton took the victory, with Max Verstappen taking second and the fastest lap, increasing Hamilton's championship lead to 14 points.

Max Verstappen controlled the race from the front on the way to victory.

The result enabled Max Verstappen to take the lead in the Drivers' Championship for the first time in his career, by a margin of four points over Hamilton.

Max Verstappen pitted for a second time from the lead and set after the Mercedes duo, overtaking Hamilton for the lead on lap 52 of 53.

Max Verstappen took the fastest lap point, extending his championship lead to twelve points and achieving the first hat-trick of his career.

Max Verstappen clinched pole position again at the Styrian Grand Prix and led the race from start to finish, to give him his fourth win of the season and further extend his lead to 18 points.

Max Verstappen took pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix, led every lap from start to finish, set the fastest lap, and won the race for his first career grand slam, being the youngest to do so.

At the next race; the British Grand Prix, Max Verstappen was involved in a high-speed collision at the Copse corner with Hamilton on the first lap.

Max Verstappen was taken to the Silverstone circuit's medical centre after the crash and was then taken to Coventry hospital for precautionary checks and further assessment, before eventually being discharged at 22:00 local time on Sunday night.

At the next race, the Hungarian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen's car suffered damage in a multi-car collision on lap 1, where Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas was deemed at fault.

Max Verstappen ended the race in tenth which was promoted to ninth after Sebastian Vettel was disqualified.

The race was run for three laps, all behind the safety car, with the race official race results taken from the running order at the end of the first lap, with Hamilton and Max Verstappen both retaining their qualifying positions.

Max Verstappen made his way back up the field, and after taking an early pit stop for intermediate tyres late in the race, he finished second.

At the United States Grand Prix, Max Verstappen took pole position in qualifying, edging Hamilton by 0.209 seconds.

Max Verstappen won the race and extended his lead in the Drivers' Championship to twelve points as Hamilton finished second with the fastest lap.

At the start, Max Verstappen took the lead from Bottas and Hamilton into turn 1, and won the race; and as a result extended his lead in the championship to 19 points.

Max Verstappen attempted to re-pass Hamilton at turn six, who controversially cut the track and maintained the lead without penalty; the stewards deemed no advantage was gained, amidst Verstappen and Red Bull's complaints.

Max Verstappen was trailing Hamilton by over 10 seconds until a safety car was called with five laps remaining, following a crash involving Nicholas Latifi.

Max Verstappen passed Hamilton at turn five of the final lap of the race to become the first World Drivers' Champion from the Netherlands and the 34th overall.

Max Verstappen was named the best driver of the season by Autosport and The Race, whilst topping official polls of fellow drivers and team principals.

Mark Hughes of Motor Sport ranked Max Verstappen first, describing his season as a "stunning combination of speed and racecraft, totally fearless, incredible tenacity and ability to comeback from adversity".

In March 2022, Max Verstappen signed a five-year contract extension with Red Bull Racing for the 2023 to 2028 seasons.

Max Verstappen retired from second place at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix with a fuel system issue.

Max Verstappen won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, having benefited from a pit stop during safety car conditions to pass teammate and pole-sitter Perez, but suffered another fuel-related retirement from second place at the Australian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen responded by winning the next three races; he achieved sprint victory and a grand slam at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, won from third on the grid at the Miami Grand Prix and gained from Leclerc's retirement at the Spanish Grand Prix to lead the Drivers' Championship.

Max Verstappen took pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix and won the sprint, but was overtaken by Leclerc in the race and finished second, reducing his championship lead over Leclerc to 38 points.

Max Verstappen set the fastest qualifying time at the Belgian Grand Prix but was demoted to 14th on the grid with a power unit components penalty.

Max Verstappen took pole position and his 30th race victory at his home race, the Dutch Grand Prix, and then won from seventh on the grid at the Italian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen's winning streak was ended at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen ran out of fuel in qualifying and started the race eighth.

Max Verstappen lost places at the start and later had to make an extra pit stop due to a tyre lock-up, finishing seventh.

Max Verstappen won the next two races, the United States and Mexico City Grands Prix, finished sixth at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after a collision with Lewis Hamilton, and won the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from pole.

Max Verstappen won the championship with 454 points, beating Lewis Hamilton's 2019 record of 413.

Max Verstappen remained with Red Bull alongside Sergio Perez for the 2023 season.

Max Verstappen's season began with a win from pole at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen started ninth at the Miami Grand Prix as red flags in qualifying aborted his lap but passed the drivers ahead including pole-sitter Perez to win.

The next four races, the Monaco, Spanish, Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix, were won comfortably from pole position by Max Verstappen, including Red Bull's 100th victory in Canada and a sprint win in Austria.

Max Verstappen took pole at the British Grand Prix but briefly lost the lead to Lando Norris at the start before regaining the position to win.

Max Verstappen 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.

Max Verstappen went on to overtake Perez to win the race.

Max Verstappen 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.

Max Verstappen clinched his third World Drivers' Championship title at the Qatar Grand Prix sprint despite finishing second to Oscar Piastri, then won the race from pole.

Max Verstappen won the United States Grand Prix despite having started sixth due to a lap time deletion in qualifying.

Max Verstappen took pole and victory at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix and won the sprint having overtook pole-sitter Lando Norris at the first turn.

Max Verstappen started behind Charles Leclerc at the Las Vegas Grand Prix and received a penalty for forcing him off the track, but Verstappen reclaimed the lead to win.

Max Verstappen scored 575 points, more than double that of second-placed Perez and beating his own points-scoring record from 2022.

Max Verstappen began the 2024 season with his fifth career grand slam at the Bahrain Grand Prix and followed this with another pole and victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, his 100th Formula One podium.

Max Verstappen took pole again at the Australian Grand Prix but retired on lap 4, his first retirement since the 2022 edition of the race, with a brake fire, ending his nine-race winning streak and 43 race-finishing streak.

Max Verstappen won the sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix after starting fourth, then claimed pole and victory in the race.

Max Verstappen took another sprint win at the Miami Grand Prix and started on pole position, but lost the lead to Lando Norris during the pit stops and was unable to reclaim the place, finishing the race second.

Max Verstappen matched Ayrton Senna's record of eight consecutive poles at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and converted this into his fifth victory of the season.

Max Verstappen won the sprint from pole at the Austrian Grand Prix and then qualified fastest for the main race.

Max Verstappen led most of the race but was challenged by Norris in the closing laps before the two drivers collided; Verstappen was handed a time penalty for causing the collision and finished the race fifth.

Max Verstappen later commented that the crash did not affect his close friendship with Norris.

Max Verstappen started third at the Hungarian Grand Prix but collided with Hamilton and went on to finish fifth.

Max Verstappen criticised his team's race strategy and suggested that the RB20 was now behind the race-winning McLaren MCL38 on pace.

Max Verstappen recovered positions and was classified fourth in the race, extending his lead in the championship to 78 points over Norris going into the summer break.

Max Verstappen then finished second to Norris at the Singapore Grand Prix, reducing his championship advantage to 52 points.

Max Verstappen responded by hosting an impromptu media session outside the press conference room in protest, and later suggested that the decision could push him to leave the sport.

Max Verstappen won the sprint at the United States Grand Prix and was classified third in the race ahead of Norris, who was penalised for overtaking Verstappen off-track.

Max Verstappen started second at the Mexico City Grand Prix but received 20 seconds worth of penalties for his driving during a battle for position with Norris, resulting in a sixth-place finish, reducing his championship lead to 47 points.

Max Verstappen was so calm about it; he was calculating.

Max Verstappen was classified fourth in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix sprint after receiving a virtual safety car infringement penalty, and started the race from 17th following an engine penalty, whilst Norris qualified on pole.

Max Verstappen gained seven positions on the opening lap, with further places obtained via several crucial overtakes, as well as surviving the worsening conditions on his intermediate tyres until the red flag period.

Max Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix, leading every lap after having his pole position stripped for driving unnecessarily slowly in qualifying; the incident led to a widely publicised feud with George Russell.

Red Bull trailed McLaren for performance into 2025, with Max Verstappen finishing second at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix after battling Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for the lead in wet conditions.

Max Verstappen claimed third in the sprint and fourth in the main race in China amidst tyre wear and performance struggles with the RB21, whilst new teammate Liam Lawson finished outside the points; Verstappen claimed Red Bull had dropped behind Ferrari and Mercedes.

Max Verstappen received widespread acclaim for his surprise pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix, before holding off both McLaren drivers to claim his first victory of the year; Andrew Benson of BBC Sport described it as "a weekend of the sort of rare perfection that comes only from drivers of the very highest quality".

In 2021, three-time Formula One World Champion Jackie Stewart claimed that Max Verstappen is the fastest driver in Formula One, but he added that Max Verstappen is still in the "puppy stage" of his career.

Windsor stressed that Max 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.

Max Verstappen 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 Max Verstappen to be the fastest driver in Formula One; following the Dutchman's "really deserved" maiden title triumph in 2021.

Max Verstappen has a database in his head which he can use immediately.

Helmut Marko asserted that Max Verstappen's progress has moved him clear of his former Formula 1 team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, in both qualifying and race trim.

Two-time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso commented that Max Verstappen is the standout driver in Formula One, declaring the Red Bull star to be "one step ahead" of everyone.

Max Verstappen was ranked first in the annual Formula One team principals' top ten drivers ranking in 2021.

Max Verstappen has accumulated a significant fanbase from around the world, particularly from his home country of the Netherlands.

In January 2024, Max Verstappen drove the Ferrari 296 GT3 at the Algarve International Circuit in Portimao, as part of a two-day test with Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters team Emil Frey Racing alongside Thierry Vermeulen, who competed under the Max Verstappen.

On 19 November 2024, Max Verstappen drove a prototype for the first time, testing the Acura ARX-06 with Honda Racing Corporation at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen expressed his desire to compete in the 24 Hours of Daytona and Le Mans after the test, stating that "it's just about finding the time".

Max Verstappen stated that it helps him with his real-life racing, keeping him "ready to go".

Since 2015, Max Verstappen has been a member of Team Redline, a British-Luxembourgish multinational professional sim racing team.

Max Verstappen won the Petit Le Mans Special Event in October 2020.

Later that year, Haas driver and R8G eSports founder Romain Grosjean deemed Max Verstappen to be the "fastest" driver in sim racing.

Max Verstappen entered the eighth round of the 2023 AMX Global League at Imola, winning the first heat.

Max Verstappen entered the Daytona 24 Special Event in January 2024, winning the GTD class with Redline.

Max Verstappen described the former competition as a "clown show" after a technical issue saw him retire from the lead of the 2023 edition, subsequently finishing runner-up in the overall championship to Porsche Coanda.

Max Verstappen holds dual Dutch and Belgian citizenship, and decided to compete with a Dutch racing license, as his father Jos did.

Max Verstappen stated in 2014 that he "feels more Dutch", having spent more time with his father than with his mother during his childhood, as well as his upbringing in Maaseik, a Belgian town at the Dutch border.

In 2022, Max Verstappen stated that he appreciates both sides and is "half-half at the end of the day".

Max Verstappen competed in Formula One for more than a season before obtaining a road driving licence on his 18th birthday.

Max Verstappen moved to Monaco the day after, in October 2015 where he has lived ever since.

In November 2020, Max Verstappen bought a Dassault Falcon 900EX aircraft from Virgin Galactic.

Max Verstappen is a supporter of FC Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven.

Max Verstappen speaks three languages, Dutch, English and German, the latter of which he learned while karting with Michael Schumacher.