Max Verstappen

Lore & Background

Verstappen is the son of former Formula One driver Jos Verstappen and former kart racer Sophie Kumpen. He was born in Hasselt and raised in Maaseik. After a record-breaking karting season in 2013, he moved to junior formulae, finishing third in the 2014 FIA European Formula 3 championship in his rookie season. He signed for Toro Rosso in 2015 at age 17, becoming the youngest driver in F1 history. Promoted to Red Bull in 2016, he won his debut race for the team at the Spanish Grand Prix, becoming the youngest Grand Prix winner. He won multiple races in 2017 and 2018, and finished third in the championship in 2019 and 2020. He won his first title in 2021 by overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the last race, becoming the first Dutch world champion. He won the next two titles in 2022 and 2023, and secured his fourth consecutive title in 2024 after winning nine Grands Prix, including a wet-weather win in São Paulo.

In Their Own Story

The 2026 season began with a setback for Verstappen at the Australian Grand Prix, where he crashed in Q1 and failed to set a time. Despite this, he fought back to finish 6th in the race, behind reigning champion Lando Norris. At the Chinese Grand Prix, Verstappen suffered gearbox issues that forced a retirement, while teammate Isack Hadjar finished behind Oliver Bearman, Pierre Gasly, and Liam Lawson. In Japan, Verstappen was kept at bay by Gasly for the majority of the race, finishing 7th, with Hadjar in 12th behind Nico Hülkenberg's Audi. The team dropped to fifth in the standings behind Haas after the Chinese Grand Prix.

Reader's Guide

As of the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix, Verstappen has 71 race wins, 48 pole positions, 37 fastest laps, and 131 podiums. He holds records for most wins in a season (19), most podiums in a season (21), most consecutive wins (10), and most consecutive pole positions (8, shared with Ayrton Senna). He is contracted to Red Bull until at least the end of the 2030 season. Outside F1, he runs the Verstappen Racing team, competes in sports car racing, and has been a professional sim racer since 2015, winning several iRacing events. He was listed in Time's 100 most influential people in 2024 and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau in 2022.

Did You Know?

• Verstappen won his first karting championship at age seven in the Mini Junior class of Limburg, Belgium.
• He is the first driver since his father Jos to win two European Karting Championships in the same season.
• Verstappen became the youngest driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix at age 18 in the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.
• He won the 2024 title driving for the championship-winning constructor, Red Bull Racing.