Andy Devaney
Max Verstappen didn’t tiptoe to greatness; he barged in, helmet first. Max Verstappen turned a childhood spent chasing trophies out of a battered van into a 2021 championship sealed under floodlights in Abu Dhabi.
Born to race
That Verstappen’s father, Jos, was also an F1 driver is well known; his career spanned much of the 1990s and he was a team-mate of Michael Schumacher.
However, Max benefits from a double dose of racing DNA as his mother, Sophie Kumpen, enjoyed a successful karting career of her own, winning the Andrea Margutti Trophy in 1995.
Speaking on the Beyond the Ordinary podcast, David Coulthard, an F1 contemporary of Verstappen Sr, explains: “The absolute commitment that was carried in his [Jos’s] DNA has been passed on to Max, and I think that what the Verstappen family has done is work very hard to give him the best grounding – through karting, into cars – make great choices and position him now in a very happy place.”
An early start
At the point most of us are making our first wobbly attempts to ride a bike, young Max was getting a taste of motor racing.
As Jos recalls, “He was four-and-a-half when we first put him in. He did it for one day and immediately we bought him a bigger go-kart.”
Was that a nerve-wracking experience for the watching parents? Jos adds, “Not really, because I think he was about two-and-a-half when he was [first] driving on a quad bike, so he had quite a lot of experience with speed, how to steer…”
First race, first win
By those standards, it must have seemed like an interminable wait for his first taste of competitive action.
Max was the grand old age of seven by the time he was lining up on the grid for the first time.
Thankfully, the wait to experience the thrill of victory was not quite as long, as Max went straight out and won that first race.
Jos recalls, “We’d prepared very well. He was racing against other mini juniors, who could be nine or 10 years old, so he was competing against a lot older boys.”
Doing the hard yards
What followed over the next decade or so laid the foundations for the world champion of today. Father and son devoted themselves to Max’s nascent career, living the old-school way—long drives, short sleep, and an odometer that groaned for mercy.
Jos explains, “I think every year we were racing, we were winning championships. You do a lot of races, but what I also really enjoyed was all the things around it.
You know, the two of us together in the van, all the preparation you have to do before… I miss it now, but at that moment I really enjoyed it. We did about 80-100,00km a year, every year and we did that for 10 years. It was quite intense.”
Making the jump to F3
It’s no exaggeration to say Max made an immediate impact when he switched to cars. Former Red Bull Racing teammate Alex Albon reveals, “Max was straight away quick when he joined the championship. He was aggressive back then as well.
We didn’t have any altercations – we would never fight, there was always that mutual respect – but, at the same time, we were definitely rivals.”
F1 comes calling
With 10 race victories and third overall in his maiden F3 season, Formula One noticed. In August 2014 Helmut Marko signed him to Red Bull’s driver development programme. He appeared in free practice at the Japanese GP and, seven months later, lined up in Toro Rosso colours at the 2015 Australian GP—aged 17, the youngest F1 competitor.
Max recalls, “Some said, of course, that I was too young. At the time, I didn’t even have my driving licence.
They knew of course that I was in Formula One, but the driving instructor, he was very strict, which was good. I had caps, t-shirts ready in case somebody needed to be bribed, but he didn’t take it!”
From youngest driver to youngest winner
The rookie season brought points and plaudits—rookie of the year, personality of the year, and action of the year for that Spa overtake. Marko rang again and promoted him to Red Bull Racing from the 2016 Spanish GP.
As Coulthard explains, “It was a great opportunity. Helmut and Red Bull have shown an ability to back young talent and give them an opportunity.”
Max did the rest, fending off Kimi Räikkönen to win at 18 years and 228 days—the youngest winner in F1 history.
Max recalls the experience, “I started cramping a little bit with five laps to go because of the excitement and the focus. It was pretty crazy. I was literally counting the laps at the end, there was a lot of pressure. My dad was getting so excited at the end that his nose started bleeding.”
Fine-tuning the edges
Barcelona was a trailer; the feature film kept rolling. Two wins in 2017 (Malaysia, Mexico) and resilience after early-2018 retirements led to an Austrian lift-off and another Mexican triumph, fourth in the standings.
In 2019 he upped the ante: Austria again, then Germany and Brazil—top three overall.
The shortened 2020 delivered two victories and another third place as Max Verstappen tightened the screws on his own impulses and cut out the unforced errors.
Eye on the title
After a productive off-season, Max Verstappen came out swinging in 2021: two wins and three P2s in the first five rounds before a tyre blowout in Azerbaijan cost points.
The British Grand Prix crash with Lewis Hamilton poured petrol on the rivalry. Credit to Max—he rebounded with wins in Belgium and his home Dutch Grand Prix, then the Monza clash that sidelined both title contenders.
He kept his head when the circus lost its. Wins in the US and Mexico, four P2s, and a title fight that marched into the Middle East on a knife-edge.
Crowned in Abu Dhabi
The Abu Dhabi finale delivered drama that will be argued over in pubs and paddocks for decades, but the result is written in bold: Max Verstappen, 2021 FIA Formula One World Champion at 24, with Red Bull poised for more.
As Coulthard, no stranger to title tussles himself, explains, “This is a classic period. When we’ve had these titanic battles in the past, they might come along once a decade or 20 years, but when it happens it’s a wonderful thing to be able to witness two greats go toe-to-toe.”
