This man once carried his Formula 1 car, refused to attend the FIA’s official gala dinner, and instead threw an electronic music party on his yacht. While others treated racing as a career, some said he was just driving for the thrill. They promised to “bring up the rear together,” but he climbed into the points within a single lap.
Born in Hasselt, Belgium in 1997, Max Verstappen practically entered the world holding a steering wheel. His father, Jos Verstappen, was once Michael Schumacher’s teammate; his mother, Sophie Kumpen, was a karting champion who had raced alongside Ayrton Senna. When other kids were playing with Lego, his mother told him: “Racing doesn’t lie — the harder you are on it, the more loyal it will be to you.”
In 2015, Red Bull Racing received Verstappen’s resume — with attachments including circuit asphalt analysis reports and detailed braking point statistics. At just 17, he debuted, becoming the youngest driver in F1 history to start a Grand Prix.
In 2016, at the Spanish Grand Prix, he passed Lewis Hamilton on a slippery track to take victory, forcing veterans to acknowledge the table-flipping rookie. In the 2021 Abu Dhabi finale, Hamilton called him a “track bully,” but Verstappen calmly told the cameras: “I’m not taking risks — I’m calculating them.” In the last corner, with a line almost scraping the wall, he stole the title. That night, fireworks in the Netherlands burned brighter than the track lights.
In the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix — his “God Mode” race — his braking points averaged 18 meters later than Norris’s, and his speed through Senna’s S was 12 km/h faster. Starting from 17th, he made 18 overtakes, charging through torrential rain to turn the race around. Beyond the controversy, he redefined “controlled aggression,” reacting in just 0.18 seconds at the limit between speed and control.
As Verstappen wrote in his autobiography: “There’s no finish line on the track — only the infinite possibilities of the next corner.”
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