Max Emilian Verstappen, born September 30th 1997, drives under the Dutch flag for Red Bull Racing and is a three-time Formula One World Champion (2021, 2022, 2023). In 2015, at the tender age of 17 years and 166 days, he became the youngest driver to race in Formula One when he drove in the Australian Grand Prix for the Scuderia Toro Rosso team. In 2016 Max was promoted to Red Bull Racing only four races into the season, swapping seats with Daniel Kvyat. In his first race with the Red Bull team, at the age of 18 years and 228 days, he became the youngest-ever F1 driver and first Dutch driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix when he saw the checkered flag in Barcelona.
Max currently lives in Monaco but was born in Hasselt, Belgium to Jos Verstappen and Sophie Kumpen. His father Jos is a former F1 driver, having entered 107 races over 8 seasons from 1994 to 2003, and his mother is a winner of the Belgian Karting Championship. Racing is definitely in Max’s DNA. Even though his parents separated when he was a child it didn’t slow him down. He went to live with his father Jos, who is Dutch, while his sister, Victoria lived with their mother. Jos coached his son through the early years of karting and can still be seen in the Red Bull garage on race weekends, although he has become less visible as Max continues to distinguish himself as one of the most talented drivers in Formula One.
Max Verstappen’s elbows out, aggressive driving style has led to some controversy and criticism from fellow drivers. Most notably, in his early days at Red Bull he often moved to defend his position while under braking, which can result in a serious collision. Before the United States Grand Prix in 2016 the FIA created what was known as the “Verstappen Rule” to penalize drivers for moving under braking. The rule, however, was deemed to be unfairly harsh, and in 2017 it was revised so that drivers would only be investigated for breaking the rule and penalties would only be awarded if the move was overly aggressive or dangerous. While Verstappen’s first championship season, in 2021, was not always pretty and often saw him clashing with Lewis Hamilton, his 2022 campaign asserted his incredible talent and dominance of the sport. In 2023, Verstappen won all but three races, showing the world that he is unstoppable. Max will undoubtedly be in the mix for more championships in the years to come as he advances towards legendary status.