Max Verstappen competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One with Red Bull Racing.
126 Facts About Max Verstappen
2.
Max Verstappen won his second consecutive Formula One championship the next season.
3.
Max Verstappen scored the first hat-trick of his career at the 2021 French Grand Prix and his first grand slam at the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix.
4.
Max Verstappen scored his second grand slam at the 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
5.
Max Verstappen is set to remain at Red Bull until at least the end of the 2028 season after signing a contract extension.
6.
Max Emilian Verstappen was born on 30 September 1997 in Hasselt, Belgium to Jos Verstappen and Sophie Kumpen, and has a younger sister, Victoria.
7.
Max Verstappen's parents separated when he was young, after which he lived with his father while his sister Victoria lived with their mother.
8.
Max Verstappen has three younger half-siblings from his father; a sister, Blue Jaye, from his second marriage and a brother and sister, Jason Jaxx and Mila Faye, from his current marriage.
9.
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.
10.
Max Verstappen competed in Formula One for more than a season before obtaining a road driving licence on his 18th birthday.
11.
Max Verstappen moved to Monaco the day after, in October 2015, and has lived there since and has said it was not for tax reasons.
12.
In November 2020, Max Verstappen bought a Dassault Falcon 900EX aircraft from Virgin Galactic.
13.
Max Verstappen is a member of Team Redline; a multinational sim racing team.
14.
Max Verstappen is a supporter of FC Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven.
15.
Max Verstappen speaks three languages, Dutch, English and German, the latter of which he learned while karting with Michael Schumacher.
16.
Max Verstappen has been publicly dating Kelly Piquet since January 2021.
17.
Max Verstappen competed in the Mini Junior championship of his home province of Limburg, Belgium.
18.
In 2009, Max Verstappen joined Team Pex Racing, a CRG customer team.
19.
Max Verstappen was signed by CRG to race in their factory team at the World and European championships.
20.
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.
21.
In 2011, Max Verstappen won the WSK Euro Series in a Parilla-powered CRG.
22.
Max Verstappen won the WSK Master Series in the KF2 class, beating CRG driver Felice Tiene.
23.
Max Verstappen won the South Garda Winter Cup in the KF2 class, beating Dennis Olsen and Antonio Fuoco.
24.
Max Verstappen competed at the SKUSA SuperNationals in the KZ2 class in a CRG, finishing 21st.
25.
Aged 15, Max Verstappen won two European titles and a world title in 2013 ; an unprecedented feat in the history of the discipline.
26.
Max Verstappen won the 2013 World KZ championship at Varennes-sur-Allier, France; becoming the youngest driver ever to win the KZ world championship.
27.
Max Verstappen tested for several Formula Renault 2.0 teams in 2013.
28.
In December 2013, Max Verstappen tested a Dallara F311 Formula 3 car run by Motopark Academy.
29.
At the Circuit Ricardo Tormo near Valencia, Max Verstappen set a faster lap time than the more experienced driver Eddie Cheever III.
30.
On 16 January 2014, it was announced Max Verstappen would make his racing debut in the non-championship Florida Winter Series.
31.
Aged 16, Max Verstappen scored a record six consecutive victories in the series, and a record ten victories in total, along with eight retirements and one DNS ; placing third in the overall rankings.
32.
Aged 17 years and three days, Max Verstappen was the youngest person in history to participate in a Formula One race weekend.
33.
Max Verstappen considered an offer from Mercedes to join their driver development programme.
34.
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.
35.
Max Verstappen was given a five-place grid penalty for causing the accident, and was branded "dangerous" by Williams driver Felipe Massa.
36.
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.
37.
Max Verstappen began the 2016 season at Toro Rosso, again alongside Sainz.
38.
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.
39.
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.
40.
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.
41.
Max Verstappen then made several overtakes in quick succession during the closing laps to eventually finish on the podium in third place.
42.
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.
43.
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.
44.
Max Verstappen finished second in the following race in Japan.
45.
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.
46.
Max Verstappen won his third Formula One race at the Mexican Grand Prix, after passing Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap.
47.
Max Verstappen recovered to eventually finish the race in sixth place.
48.
Max Verstappen had a productive first lap after which he found himself in the points while challenging Lewis Hamilton.
49.
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.
50.
Max Verstappen recovered to fourth place, with his penalty causing him to be classified fifth.
51.
Max Verstappen bounced back in Spain with his first podium of the season by finishing third behind the Mercedes drivers, holding off Sebastian Vettel.
52.
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.
53.
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.
54.
Max Verstappen managed to salvage 2 points by finishing ninth place, overtaking 6 cars on track.
55.
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.
56.
In Canada, Max Verstappen topped all three practice sessions and qualified third, two-tenths off Sebastian Vettel in pole position.
57.
Max Verstappen eventually finished third and set the fastest lap of the race.
58.
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.
59.
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.
60.
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.
61.
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.
62.
Max Verstappen was poised to win the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix, having overtaken Raikkonen, Vettel, Bottas, and Hamilton.
63.
Max Verstappen then finished his season with another podium as he finished third in Abu Dhabi.
64.
Max Verstappen ended the season in fourth place in the championship with 249 points, claiming two wins, eleven podium finishes, and two fastest laps.
65.
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.
66.
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.
67.
Max Verstappen crossed the line in second place but was demoted to fourth by the penalty.
68.
In Britain, Max Verstappen, running in third place, was hit from behind during an overtake attempt by Sebastian Vettel and spun into the gravel.
69.
Max Verstappen was able to continue and crossed the line in fifth place.
70.
Max Verstappen would go on to extend his lead after the track began to dry, claiming his second victory of the season.
71.
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.
72.
Max Verstappen ended the season with a second-place finish in Abu Dhabi.
73.
Max Verstappen finished the 2019 season in third place in the championship with 278 points.
74.
Max Verstappen claimed three race victories, nine podium finishes, two pole positions, and three fastest laps.
75.
In 2020, Max Verstappen signed a contract extension to race for Red Bull until the end of 2023.
76.
Max Verstappen continued to race for Red Bull in 2020, alongside Albon.
77.
Max Verstappen won the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone, having started from fourth.
78.
Max Verstappen clinched second place at the Spanish Grand Prix, after qualifying in third.
79.
Max Verstappen suffered from two consecutive DNFs at the Italian and Tuscan Grands Prix after which he lost second place in the Championship.
80.
At the Russian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen finished the race in second, his seventh podium finish of 2020.
81.
At the Eifel Grand Prix, Max Verstappen finished in second after qualifying in third.
82.
Max Verstappen managed to get the fastest lap of the race.
83.
Max Verstappen recovered to third and took his 40th podium in Formula 1.
84.
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.
85.
Max Verstappen finished the 2020 season in third place in the championship with 214 points.
86.
Max Verstappen claimed two race victories, eleven podium finishes, one pole position, and three fastest laps.
87.
At the Bahrain Grand Prix, Max Verstappen topped all the practice sessions and subsequently took a career fourth pole position.
88.
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.
89.
At the race start, Max Verstappen was able to pass both Perez and pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton to take the lead.
90.
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.
91.
Hamilton took the victory, with Max Verstappen taking second and the fastest lap, increasing Hamilton's championship lead to 14 points.
92.
Max Verstappen controlled the race from the front on the way to victory.
93.
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.
94.
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.
95.
Max Verstappen took the fastest lap point, extending his championship lead to twelve points.
96.
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.
97.
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.
98.
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.
99.
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.
100.
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.
101.
Max Verstappen ended the race in tenth which was promoted to ninth after Sebastian Vettel was disqualified.
102.
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.
103.
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.
104.
At the United States Grand Prix, Max Verstappen took pole position in qualifying, edging Hamilton by 0.209 seconds.
105.
Max Verstappen won the race and extended his lead in the Drivers' Championship to twelve points as Hamilton finished second with the fastest lap.
106.
At the race 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.
107.
Max Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the final lap to win the race, and his first Formula One World Drivers' Championship.
108.
Max Verstappen, who had qualified on pole position by nearly four-tenths of a second, had a slow start off the line at the start of the race and dropped to second place.
109.
Max Verstappen was trailing Hamilton by over ten seconds until a late safety car was called in due to a crash at turn 14 involving Williams driver Nicholas Latifi.
110.
Max Verstappen passed Hamilton at turn 5 of the final lap of the race to become the 34th Formula One World Drivers' Champion.
111.
In March 2022 Max Verstappen signed a five-year contract extension with Red Bull Racing for the 2023 to 2028 seasons.
112.
Max Verstappen suffered two fuel system related retirements in the first three races, finding himself 46 points behind championship leader Charles Leclerc.
113.
Max Verstappen responded by winning five of the next seven races, allowing him to take the championship lead and build a gap of 37 points over second place, by then held by his teammate Sergio Perez.
114.
Max Verstappen would go on to dominate much of the season, winning 15 races, securing the World Drivers' Championship at the Japanese Grand Prix.
115.
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.
116.
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.
117.
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.
118.
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.
119.
Max Verstappen has a database in his head which he can use immediately.
120.
Helmut Marko, the current advisor to the Red Bull GmbH Formula One teams, 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.
121.
Max Verstappen was ranked first in the annual Formula One team principals' top ten drivers ranking in 2021.
122.
Max Verstappen has accumulated a significant fanbase from around the world, but in particular from his home country of the Netherlands.
123.
In 2022, Max Verstappen was named the winner of the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year.
124.
On 3 October 2014, Max Verstappen became the youngest driver to participate in a Formula One Grand Prix weekend, driving in FP1 at the Japanese Grand Prix, deputising in place of Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne.
125.
On 3 August 2019, Max Verstappen became the first Dutch Formula One driver to take pole position, for the Hungarian Grand Prix, while setting a new lap record on the Hungaroring and becoming the 100th polesitter in the sport's history.
126.
On 23 May 2021, after winning the Monaco Grand Prix, Max Verstappen became the first Dutch Formula One driver to lead the World Championship.