Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship (Max Verstappen)

Lore & Background

Verstappen is the son of Dutch former Formula One driver Jos Verstappen and Belgian former kart racer Sophie Kumpen. He started karting at age four and had a record-breaking karting season in 2013, winning three CIK-FIA championships. He graduated to junior formulae, finishing third in the 2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship in his rookie season. At age 17, he signed for Toro Rosso in 2015, becoming the youngest driver in Formula One history. After four rounds of the 2016 season, he was promoted to Red Bull to partner Daniel Ricciardo. On his debut for Red Bull at age 18, he won the Spanish Grand Prix, becoming the youngest-ever driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix.

In Their Own Story

The lights at Yas Marina flare red, then vanish. Inside the cockpit, the roar of the V6 hybrid engines fades into a vacuum of pure focus; Max grips the wheel, his world reduced to the telemetry scrolling across his screen and the shadow of the rival car inches ahead. He doesn't panic—he calculates. As DRS opens on the long straight, the Red Bull livery becomes a streak of blue and yellow cutting through the desert night. One late apex, one instinctive dive into Turn 14, and the gap closes. The checkered flag falls not with a whimper, but with an explosion of sound as the crowd's roar crashes against the silence of victory. Once again, the name etched beside the team that believed in him when the odds were impossible is Max Verstappen.

Reader's Guide

Verstappen won his maiden title in 2021 after overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the last race. He won the next two championships in 2022 and 2023, overturning the largest points deficit in Formula One history in 2022 and breaking numerous records. He secured his fourth consecutive title in 2024 after winning nine Grands Prix, including a widely acclaimed wet-weather performance in São Paulo, becoming the first driver to win the championship driving for a third-placed constructor in 41 years. He finished runner-up by two points in a three-way title battle with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in 2025. As of the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix, he has achieved 71 race wins, 48 pole positions, 37 fastest laps, and 131 podiums. He holds records including most wins in a season (19), most podium finishes 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.

Did You Know?

• Verstappen won his first Grand Prix at age 18, making him the youngest-ever Formula One race winner.
• He is the first World Drivers' Champion from the Netherlands.
• He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau in 2022.
• He is an avid sim racer but does not have a documented professional career in iRacing.