Max Emilian Verstappen (Dutch pronunciation: ; born 30 September 1997) is a Dutch and Belgian racing driver, currently competing under the Dutch flag in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. Verstappen has won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from 2021 to 2023 with Red Bull, and has won 61 Grands Prix across 10 seasons.
Born in Hasselt and raised in Maaseik, Verstappen is the son of Dutch former Formula One driver Jos Verstappen and Belgian former kart racer Sophie Kumpen. After a successful karting career—culminating in his record-breaking 2013 season—Verstappen graduated to junior formulae. Progressing directly to FIA European Formula 3, Verstappen broke several records on his way to third in the championship in his rookie season with Van Amersfoort. A member of the Red Bull Junior Team, Verstappen signed for Toro Rosso in 2015, aged 17, becoming the youngest driver in Formula One history at the Australian Grand Prix. Following several points finishes in his debut season, Verstappen retained his seat for 2016 before being promoted to parent team Red Bull after four rounds. On debut for Red Bull, aged 18, Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix, becoming the youngest-ever driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix. Verstappen achieved multiple race wins in his 2017 and 2018 campaigns, before finishing third in both the 2019 and 2020 World Drivers' Championships.
After winning 10 Grands Prix during the 2021 season—overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the last lap of the last race of the season—Verstappen won his maiden title, becoming the first Dutch Formula One World Champion and the 34th overall. Verstappen won the next two championships in 2022 and 2023, overturning the largest points deficit in Formula One history in the former and breaking numerous records across both seasons.
As of the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix, Verstappen has achieved 61 race wins, 40 pole positions, 32 fastest laps and 110 podiums in Formula One. In addition to being the youngest Grand Prix winner, he holds several Formula One records, including the most wins in a season (19), the most podium finishes in a season (21), the most consecutive wins (10), and the most consecutive pole positions (8, shared with Ayrton Senna). Verstappen is set to remain at Red Bull until at least the end of the 2028 season. Verstappen was listed in the 2024 issue of Time as one of the 100 most influential people globally.
Max Emilian Verstappen was born on 30 September 1997 in Hasselt, Belgium to Jos Verstappen and Sophie Kumpen. Verstappen's parents separated when he was young, after which he lived with his father. His younger sister, Victoria, lived with their mother. Verstappen has three younger half-siblings from his father: a sister from Jos's second marriage and a brother and sister from Jos's current marriage.
His family has a long association with motor sports: his father is a Dutch former Formula One driver, his Belgian mother competed in karting, and his first cousin once removed, Anthony Kumpen, competed in endurance racing and is a two-time NASCAR Whelen Euro Series champion currently serving as the team manager for PK Carsport in Euro Series. Although Verstappen has a Belgian mother, was born in Belgium and resided in Bree, Belgium, he decided to compete with a Dutch racing licence. He stated he "feels more Dutch", having spent more time with his father than with his mother during his upbringing, and was always surrounded by Dutch people while growing up in Maaseik, a Belgian town at the Dutch border. Verstappen said in 2015: "I actually only lived in Belgium to sleep, but during the day I went to the Netherlands and had my friends there too. I was raised as a Dutch person and that's how I feel." In 2022, however, Verstappen stated that he appreciates both sides and is "half-half at the end of the day".
He competed in Formula One for more than a season before obtaining a road driving licence on his 18th birthday. Verstappen moved to Monaco the day after, in October 2015, and has lived there since and has said it was not for tax reasons. In November 2020, Verstappen bought a Dassault Falcon 900EX aircraft from Virgin Galactic. The aircraft is registered PH-DTF and operated by Exxaero.
In his free time, Verstappen enjoys sim racing. Having taken part in many sim racing competitions, Verstappen stated that it helps him with his real life racing keeping him "ready to go". Verstappen is a member of Team Redline; a multinational sim racing team. Verstappen is a supporter of FC Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven. Verstappen speaks three languages, Dutch, English and German, the latter of which he learned while karting with Michael Schumacher. In September 2022, he was made an Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau in recognition of his racing achievements.
Verstappen has been dating Kelly Piquet publicly since January 2021.
Verstappen started racing in karts at the age of four and competing in championships at the age of seven. In 2005 he competed in the Mini Junior championship of his home province of Limburg, Belgium and won the VAS Championship in the same category. In 2006, he repeated his success. In 2007, Verstappen graduated to the Rotax Max Mini Max class and won the Rotax Max Challenge Belgium and the Dutch Championship in that category. In 2008, racing in a CRG kart entered by his father, Verstappen won the Belgian Cadet Championship, as well as the Rotax Max Challenge Belgium and Benelux Karting Series in Mini Max class. In 2009, Verstappen joined Pex Racing, a CRG customer team. That year, he defended his titles in the Mini Max championships and won the Belgian KF5 Championship.
Verstappen was signed by CRG to race in their factory team and stepped up to international karting in 2010. At the KF3 World Cup, Verstappen finished second to the more experienced Alexander Albon (who would eventually become his Formula One teammate at Red Bull Racing) but beat him at the WSK Euro Series and also won the WSK World Series, beating Robert Vișoiu. He finished fifth in the European Championship and won the WSK Nations Cup as well as the final of the Bridgestone Cup where during a 28 laps' race in the rain he beat Dennis Olsen by over 11 seconds. In 2011, Verstappen won the WSK Euro Series ahead of Esteban Ocon in a Parilla-powered CRG kart. However, it was not a successful year for him, as he finished 14th in the European Championship and got taken out in the World Cup by Charles Leclerc.
In the following year, Verstappen joined the Intrepid Driver Program to race in the KF2 and KZ2 classes. He won the WSK Master Series in the KF2 class, beating the CRG driver Felice Tiene. Verstappen won the South Garda Winter Cup in the KF2 class, beating Dennis Olsen and Antonio Fuoco. He finished sixth in the WSK Euro Series. He was the youngest driver taking part in the World Championship in KF1 class and finished eight.
In July 2012, it was announced that Verstappen would leave Intrepid. After a short stint with CRG-built Zanardi karts, Verstappen returned to the factory CRG team. He finished second at the World Cup in the KF2 class and competed at the SKUSA SuperNationals in the KZ2 class in a CRG, finishing 21st.
In 2013, Verstappen completed a record-breaking season in karting, having progressed to the senior KF and KZ categories. Aged 15, he won three CIK-FIA championships in a single season: two European Championships and a World Championship; an unprecedented feat in the history of the discipline. He became the first driver since his father Jos to win two European Championships in the same season, and the first to do so in both the primary direct-drive and gearbox classes. By winning the 2013 KZ World Championship at Varennes-sur-Allier, beating Charles Leclerc to the title, Verstappen became the youngest-ever driver to win the primary gearbox World Championship.
Further adding to his accolades in 2013, Verstappen also finished third at the KF World Championship despite being disqualified for a move on Nicklas Nielsen in the final race, having won the opening round and pre-final. This was the only championship he failed to win in 2013 whilst completing all rounds. Verstappen won the South Garda Winter Cup in KF2, as well as the WSK Euro Series and the WSK Super Master Series in KZ1 and KZ2, respectively.
Verstappen's first experience in a racing car was at the Pembrey Circuit on 11 October 2013. He drove 160 laps in a Barazi-Epsilon FR2.0–10 Formula Renault car. The car was provided by Dutch team MP Motorsport. He tested for several Formula Renault 2.0 teams in 2013. In December 2013, Verstappen tested a Dallara F311 Formula 3 car run by Motopark Academy. An additional Formula Renault test followed in December at Circuito de Jerez. Driving for Josef Kaufmann Racing, Verstappen went faster than Formula Renault regulars like Steijn Schothorst and Matt Parry. At the Circuit Ricardo Tormo near Valencia, Verstappen set a faster lap time than the more experienced driver Eddie Cheever III.
On 16 January 2014, it was announced Verstappen would make his racing debut in the non-championship Florida Winter Series. On 5 February, at the second race weekend, Verstappen won the race at Palm Beach International Raceway after he started from pole. A few weeks later, Verstappen won his second race of the series at Homestead–Miami Speedway after beating Nicholas Latifi by 0.004 seconds.
Following his single-seater debut in the inaugural Florida Winter Series, Verstappen drove in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship for Van Amersfoort Racing. Aged 16, Verstappen scored a record six consecutive victories in the series, and a record ten victories in total, along with eight retirements and one DNS (did not start); placing third in the overall rankings.
During the first practice session at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen replaced Jean-Éric Vergne as part of his preparation for a full-time seat at Toro Rosso in the 2015 season. Aged 17 years and three days, Verstappen was the youngest person in history to participate in a Formula One race weekend. In August 2014, Verstappen joined the Red Bull Junior Team after testing a Formula Renault 3.5 car. He also considered an offer from Mercedes to join their driver development programme.
Verstappen became the youngest driver to start a World Championship race through joining Toro Rosso's race drivers’ line-up with Carlos Sainz as his teammate, in his Grand Prix debut as a full-time driver at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix at the age of 17 years, 166 days—breaking Jaime Alguersuari's existing record by almost two years. In this first race, Verstappen ran in points-scoring positions until he was forced to retire due to an engine failure. However, at the subsequent race in Malaysia, Verstappen qualified sixth and finished the race in seventh place, scoring his first Formula One points aged 17 years, 180 days, breaking the record of the then-youngest driver to score World Championship points.
At the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix, Verstappen was involved in a high-speed collision with Romain Grosjean, after clipping the back of Grosjean's Lotus on the approach to the tight first corner, Sainte Devote, and crashed into the barriers at high speed. Verstappen was given a five-place grid penalty for causing the accident, and was branded "dangerous" by Williams driver Felipe Massa.
Verstappen continued to regularly finish in the points as well as achieving his best finish of the 2015 season in Hungary by finishing fourth, and equalled this result at the United States Grand Prix. At the end of the season, Verstappen received three awards at the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony, for "Rookie of the Year", "Personality of the Year" and "Action of the Year", for his overtake on Felipe Nasr on the outside of the Blanchimont corner at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Verstappen began the 2016 season at Toro Rosso, again alongside Sainz. Verstappen qualified fifth for the opening race of the season in Australia, but during the race made several radio calls to his team due to frustration at being behind Sainz on track before Verstappen's Toro Rosso came into contact with his teammate's car whilst attempting to pass him with three laps to go, and he eventually finished tenth. Verstappen enjoyed a more successful weekend at the following race in Bahrain, finishing sixth to score Toro Rosso's first-ever points at the Sakhir circuit.
On 5 May 2016, following the Russian Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing announced that Verstappen would be replacing Daniil Kvyat from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards, with Kvyat returning to Toro Rosso. According to Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner, "Max has proven to be an outstanding young talent. His performance at Toro Rosso has been impressive so far and we are pleased to give him the opportunity to drive for Red Bull Racing." After qualifying fourth for the Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen rose to second behind teammate Daniel Ricciardo on the opening lap after Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg crashed out of the race. Verstappen took the race lead as he was placed on a two-stop rather than the same three-stop strategy as Ricciardo, and he held off Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen in the later stages of the race to take his first Formula One victory. By doing so he displaced Sebastian Vettel as the youngest driver ever to win a Formula One Grand Prix at the age of 18 years and 228 days.
In his first eight races with Red Bull, he achieved six top-five finishes, including four podiums.
During the Belgian Grand Prix, Verstappen collided with Räikkönen at the first corner, pushed Vettel, Räikkönen and Pérez wide at Les Combes, and aggressively blocked Räikkönen on the Kemmel straight. Verstappen was criticised for his driving, with Räikkönen saying that he was "going to cause a huge accident sooner or later." Christian Horner noted that the driving was "on the edge", and that Verstappen will "look at it and learn for future races." In September, Formula One director Charlie Whiting called in Verstappen for a discussion, and later gave him a 'gentle warning' due to his aggressive driving. However, in October, drivers' concerns about Verstappen's defensive tactics led the FIA to disallow moving under braking.
At the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix, Verstappen qualified fourth. In a rain affected race, he almost hit the barrier after he slid on the main straight due to a loss of traction, causing oversteer. After an additional tyre change from intermediates back to rain tyres, he ran in 16th place with just 15 laps remaining. Verstappen then made several overtakes in quick succession during the closing laps to eventually finish on the podium in third place. He received considerable praise for his performance: rival team Mercedes' team principal, Toto Wolff, labelled it "The Verstappen Show", and described Verstappen's drive as "physics..being redefined". However, Verstappen came under criticism from four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who stated that Verstappen had pushed him off the track at the Junção corner late in the race. The race stewards did not share Vettel's view and decided that no reprimand was warranted.
During the first 14 races of the 2017 season, Verstappen suffered seven retirements, four due to mechanical issues, and three due to first lap collisions in Spain, Austria and Singapore. Of the races he finished, however, he claimed a third place in China, and in another five races he finished fourth or fifth.
From the Malaysian Grand Prix onward, Verstappen enjoyed a surge of success. He won his second Formula One race at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix, a day after his 20th birthday, passing then three-time champion Lewis Hamilton for the lead in the early stages of the race. He finished second in the following race in Japan. He then finished third at the United States Grand Prix, but was classified fourth after his final lap overtake on Kimi Räikkönen was deemed illegal. He won his third Formula One race at the Mexican Grand Prix, after passing Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap.
In the first six races of the 2018 season, Verstappen had been involved in at least one incident in each race. In Australia, he qualified fourth but fell behind Kevin Magnussen at the start. In his attempts to retake the position he ran wide multiple times and damaged his car, with a spin causing him to fall further down the order. He recovered to eventually finish the race in sixth place. At the next race in Bahrain, he crashed during qualifying and started in 15th place. He had a productive first lap after which he found himself in the points while challenging Lewis Hamilton. He attempted an overtake on the reigning World Champion at the start of lap two, but collided with the Mercedes driver and suffered a puncture that ultimately led to suspension damage, forcing him out of the race.
At the next race in China, Verstappen qualified fifth and had moved up to third at the end of the first lap. Both Red Bull drivers pitted for fresh tyres during a safety car which left them with a tyre advantage over the front-runners ahead. In an overtake attempt on Sebastian Vettel for third place, Verstappen collided with the championship leader, causing him to fall to eighth and receive a 10-second penalty. He recovered to fourth place, with his penalty causing him to be classified fifth. Teammate Ricciardo went on to win the race. In Azerbaijan, Verstappen was embroiled in a race-long battle with Ricciardo for fourth place. After numerous position changes between the two teammates during the race, Ricciardo ran into the back of Verstappen during an overtake attempt from which the Dutchman aggressively defended, causing the retirement of both cars. Both drivers were blamed by the team and reprimanded by the stewards. Verstappen bounced back in Spain with his first podium of the season by finishing third behind the Mercedes drivers, holding off Sebastian Vettel. However, the race was also not without incident as he had run into the back of Lance Stroll during the virtual safety car period, causing minor front wing damage.
In Monaco, Verstappen made another error and crashed near the end of the third free practice session in an incident which closely resembled a crash he had at the same spot two years earlier. His team could not repair his car in time for qualifying and Verstappen had to start the race from the back of the grid. Verstappen did not compete and did not set a lap time in qualifying, therefore teammate Ricciardo pressed home Red Bull's advantage at the track by taking pole position and the race win. Verstappen managed to salvage two points by finishing ninth place, overtaking six cars on track. Team principal Christian Horner commented on Verstappen's start of the season, saying he "needed to stop making these mistakes" and that he could "learn from his teammate", while Helmut Marko, head of driver development at Red Bull, said that Verstappen was "too impatient". Verstappen now lay in sixth place in the championship with 35 points, only three points ahead of Fernando Alonso in the McLaren, and 37 points behind his teammate in third, who had taken two wins in the first six races.
In Canada, Verstappen topped all three practice sessions and qualified third, two-tenths off Sebastian Vettel in pole position. He eventually finished third and set the fastest lap of the race. The following race in France brought him second place. In Austria—Red Bull's home track, he started fourth on the grid, passed Kimi Räikkönen before taking advantage of retirement from Valtteri Bottas and a botched pit-stop strategy by Lewis Hamilton, who later had to retire from fourth place, to claim the fourth race victory of his career. In Britain, Verstappen was plagued by issues, finishing the first practice session early due to a gearbox problem and crashing in the second practice session before retiring from the race due to a brake problem. He would then finish fourth in Germany after strategy errors let a recovering Hamilton get past him as he went on to win the race. Verstappen ended the first half of the season with a retirement in Hungary and was narrowly behind his teammate in the championship due to his own recent resurgence and Ricciardo's unreliability.
Verstappen enjoyed a very strong second half of the season, achieving podium finishes in Belgium, Singapore, Japan and the United States, the latter of which he achieved second place having started from 18th on the grid due to a suspension failure in qualifying. Following the qualifying session at the Mexican Grand Prix, Verstappen revealed that a mechanical problem with his Red Bull under braking cost him any chance of becoming the youngest-ever Formula One pole-sitter. As a result, Ricciardo beat Verstappen to pole position by just 0.026 seconds. Verstappen had a better start than Ricciardo and took the lead of the race into the first corner, overtaking the fast-starting Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen earned his fifth career win in Mexico. He was poised to win the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix, having overtaken Räikkönen, Vettel, Bottas, and Hamilton. However, he collided with Force India driver Esteban Ocon who was trying to unlap himself on faster tyres. Ocon received a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for the incident. After the collision with Ocon, Verstappen finished in second place behind Hamilton. During an argument with Ocon after the race, Verstappen pushed the Force India driver, for which he was given two days of "public service" as a penalty by the FIA. He then finished his season with another podium as he finished third in Abu Dhabi.
Verstappen ended the season in fourth place in the championship with 249 points, claiming two wins, eleven podium finishes, and two fastest laps.
In 2019 Red Bull switched from Renault to Honda power units. After Ricciardo moved to the Renault team for 2019, Verstappen was joined at Red Bull by Pierre Gasly. Verstappen qualified in fourth and finished third in Australia, the first podium finish for a Honda-powered driver since the 2008 British Grand Prix. Verstappen was on course for a second third-place finish in Bahrain before a late safety car prevented him from overtaking Charles Leclerc's ailing Ferrari, keeping him in fourth place. Two more fourth-place finishes followed in China and Azerbaijan, and a podium in Spain in third place. In Monaco, Verstappen qualified in third place. He was released into the path of Valtteri Bottas during the drivers' pit stops, gaining second place but receiving a 5-second penalty as a result. Verstappen crossed the line in second place but was demoted to fourth by the penalty.
In Canada, Verstappen's final lap in the second qualifying session was hampered by a red flag brought out by Kevin Magnussen's crash. This caused Verstappen to qualify 11th and start the race in ninth place. He later recovered to finish fifth. In France he started and finished in fourth place. In Austria, Verstappen started third but suffered a poor start, dropping down to eighth. After a charge towards the front, he made his way up to second before controversially passing Leclerc for the lead of the race with three laps to go. This marked the first Honda-powered race victory since the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix. In Britain, Verstappen, running in third place, was hit from behind during an overtake attempt by Sebastian Vettel and spun into the gravel. Verstappen was able to continue and crossed the line in fifth place.
The wet and chaotic German Grand Prix began similarly to the race in Austria for Verstappen, as a poor start caused him to fall behind. However, he would inherit the lead midway through the race after a crash by race leader Hamilton. Verstappen would go on to extend his lead after the track began to dry, claiming his second victory of the season. In Hungary, he claimed the first pole position of his career and led most of the race before being passed in the closing laps by Hamilton, who had made another stop for fresh tyres in a gamble to catch the leader.
Before the Belgian Grand Prix, Verstappen received a new teammate in Alexander Albon after Pierre Gasly was demoted back to Toro Rosso. In the race, Verstappen had a poor start and collided with Kimi Räikkönen at the first corner, resulting in suspension damage and causing Verstappen's first retirement of the season. In Italy, he did not set a time during qualifying after his car lost power in Q1, but he was already required to start from the back of the grid due to an engine component penalty. After damaging his front wing on the first lap, he recovered to finish the race in eighth place. Third and fourth-place finishes followed in Singapore and Russia respectively. After suffering damage in a first-lap collision with Charles Leclerc in Japan, Verstappen suffered his second retirement of the season.
In Mexico, he qualified in first place after setting the fastest lap-time of the session, before being handed a grid penalty for ignoring yellow flags after a crash by Valtteri Bottas. Verstappen suffered a puncture early in the race after making contact with Bottas, falling to the back of the field before eventually recovering to sixth place. A third-place finish in the United States followed, before Verstappen took the second pole position of his career with a 1:07.508 pole lap time in Brazil. In a chaotic race, he passed Lewis Hamilton for the lead on two occasions before going on to claim his third victory of the season. Verstappen ended the season with a second-place finish in Abu Dhabi.
Verstappen finished the 2019 season in third place in the championship with 278 points. He claimed three race victories, nine podium finishes, two pole positions, and three fastest laps.
Verstappen continued to race for Red Bull in 2020, alongside Albon. At the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix, he started second, but retired early in the race after a flywheel-related problem caused an electronic issue within the power unit. Honda introduced countermeasures in response to the retirement.
At the 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix, he crashed in wet conditions during the formation lap while he was on his way to the starting grid, but he was able to drive the car back to the grid where his mechanics fixed the suspension of the car in the short time that was left before the start of the race. After the repairs, Verstappen progressed from seventh place on the grid to second place by the end of the race. Verstappen won the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone, having started from fourth.
Verstappen clinched second place at the Spanish Grand Prix, after qualifying in third. At the 2020 Belgian Grand Prix, he scored a podium in third place, following his third place on the starting grid. He suffered from two consecutive DNFs at the Italian and Tuscan Grands Prix after which he lost second place in the Championship. At the Russian Grand Prix, Verstappen finished the race in second, his seventh podium finish of 2020. At the Eifel Grand Prix, Verstappen finished in second after qualifying in third. He also managed to get the fastest lap of the race. At the Portuguese Grand Prix, Verstappen qualified third, however a poor first lap meant that he dropped back down the order to fifth place. He recovered to third and took his 40th podium in Formula 1. At the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Verstappen looked set to claim second due to Valtteri Bottas' ailing Mercedes slowing down, but a sudden puncture denied him any chance of a podium finish; Verstappen spun, resulting in his fourth retirement of the 2020 season.
During Free Practice for the Portuguese Grand Prix, Verstappen was criticised for comments he made on the team radio after a collision with Lance Stroll, where he used the words "retard" and "mongol" in response to the clash. Verstappen admitted following the session that the word choices he used were "not correct". The Mongolian government and the Mongol identity asked Verstappen to apologise for the comments; the Mongolian government also urged the FIA to take action on the comments he made.
Verstappen finished the 2020 season in third place in the championship with 214 points. He claimed two race victories, eleven podium finishes, one pole position, and three fastest laps.
At the Bahrain Grand Prix, Verstappen topped all the practice sessions and subsequently took a career fourth pole position. This was the first time he achieved back-to-back pole positions. He fought Lewis Hamilton for the race victory, and on lap 53 Verstappen overtook Hamilton, but went off track whilst doing so, resulting in him being instructed by race control to let Hamilton back into the lead and ultimately finishing second behind Hamilton. At the next race, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Verstappen qualified third with teammate Sergio Pérez second, marking the first time he was out-qualified by a teammate since the 2019 Italian Grand Prix. At the race start, Verstappen was able to pass both Pérez and pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton to take the lead. He remained in the lead after the first round of pit stops as well as the restart, following the race being suspended on lap 33. Rival Hamilton finished second, reducing his championship lead over Verstappen to one point. In the following Portuguese Grand Prix, Verstappen finished second after a long battle with Lewis Hamilton. At the Spanish Grand Prix, the battle between Verstappen and Hamilton continued, with Hamilton employing a faster two-stop strategy versus Verstappen's one-stop race. This provided Hamilton the advantage of faster tyres, allowing him to overtake Verstappen with several laps remaining in the race. Hamilton took the victory, with Verstappen taking second and the fastest lap, increasing Hamilton's championship lead to 14 points.
At the next race in Monaco, Verstappen qualified second behind Charles Leclerc, but Leclerc suffered a driveshaft failure on the way to the grid and was unable to start the race. Verstappen controlled the race from the front on the way to victory. Hamilton (who qualified seventh) finished seventh, though claiming an extra championship point by setting the fastest race lap. The result enabled Verstappen to take the lead in the Drivers' Championship for the first time in his career, by a margin of four points over Hamilton. At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Verstappen qualified third behind Leclerc and Hamilton. Verstappen and Hamilton passed Leclerc in the opening laps before Verstappen took the lead by way of a faster pitstop. Verstappen would comfortably hold the lead until lap 46 when he suffered a tyre failure causing him to crash at high-speed and retire. A mistake by Hamilton on the restart dropped him to last place, meaning Verstappen maintained his championship lead. Verstappen took pole for the French Grand Prix. Verstappen's mistake on the first lap allowed Hamilton to take the lead which Verstappen retook during the pit stop phase. Verstappen pitted for a second time from the lead and set after the Mercedes duo, overtaking Hamilton for the lead on lap 52 of 53. He also took the fastest lap point, extending his championship lead to twelve points and achieving the first hat-trick of his career. Verstappen clinched pole position again at the Styrian Grand Prix and led the race from start to finish, to give him his fourth win of the season and further extend his lead to 18 points.
Verstappen took pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix, led every lap from start to finish, set the fastest lap, and won the race for his first career grand slam, being the youngest to do so. With the win, Verstappen also became the first driver to win three races in three consecutive weekends, starting at the French Grand Prix on 20 June, then the Styrian Grand Prix on 27 June and ending with the Austrian Grand Prix on 4 July. At the next race; the British Grand Prix, Verstappen was involved in a high-speed collision at the Copse corner with Hamilton on the first lap. This resulted in a 51 g impact with the barrier. He was taken to the Silverstone circuit's medical centre after the crash and was then taken to Coventry hospital for precautionary checks and further assessment, before eventually being discharged at 22:00 local time on Sunday night. Hamilton would go on to win the race, reducing Verstappen's lead in the championship to eight points. At the next race, the Hungarian Grand Prix, Verstappen's car suffered damage in a multi-car collision on lap 1, where Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas was deemed at fault. He ended the race in tenth which was promoted to ninth after Sebastian Vettel was disqualified. The outcome of the race allowed Hamilton to take the lead of the championship.
Following the summer break, Verstappen qualified on pole at the Belgian Grand Prix, ahead of Williams driver George Russell in second and Lewis Hamilton in third. The race was run for three laps, all behind the safety car, with the race official race results taken from the running order at the end of the first lap, with Hamilton and Verstappen both retaining their qualifying positions. As less than 75% of the race distance was completed, half points were awarded, resulting in Verstappen closing the gap to Hamilton to three points. At the Dutch Grand Prix Verstappen again qualified on pole, beating Hamilton by 0.038 seconds. During the race Verstappen was able to fend off attacks from both Mercedes drivers to take the win, taking the lead in the Drivers' Championship by three points. For the Russian Grand Prix, Verstappen was required to start at the back of the grid for exceeding his quota of power unit components. He made his way back up the field, and after taking an early pit stop for intermediate tyres late in the race, he finished second. At the Turkish Grand Prix, Verstappen qualified second with Bottas on pole. With the race being run in wet conditions and the drivers on intermediate tyres the whole race, Verstappen finished second behind Bottas, taking the lead in the Drivers' Championship by six points as Hamilton finished fifth.
At the United States Grand Prix, Verstappen took pole position in qualifying, edging Hamilton by 0.209 seconds. Verstappen won the race and extended his lead in the Drivers' Championship to twelve points as Hamilton finished second with the fastest lap. At the 2021 Mexico City Grand Prix, Verstappen qualified third with a gap to pole-sitter Bottas of 0.350 seconds. Verstappen's main rival Hamilton qualified second. At the start, Verstappen took the lead from Bottas and Hamilton into turn 1, and won the race; and as a result extended his lead in the championship to 19 points.
Verstappen and Hamilton each entered the final round of the championship—the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina—on exactly 369.5 points, with Verstappen leading on countback. Verstappen qualified on pole position by nearly four-tenths of a second, but had a slow start and lost the lead to Hamilton into turn one. He attempted to re-pass Hamilton at turn six, who controversially cut the track and maintained the lead without penalty, despite Verstappen and Red Bull's complaints over team radio. Verstappen was trailing Hamilton by over 10 seconds until a safety car was called with five laps remaining, following a crash involving Nicholas Latifi. The withdrawal of the safety car and subsequent resumption of the race with one lap remaining was met with further controversy; race director Michael Masi only allowed a certain number of lapped cars through, saving time to allow the race to be restarted once the track had been cleared. Verstappen passed Hamilton at turn five of the final lap of the race to become the first Dutch Formula One World Champion and the 34th overall. Mercedes protested and stated intention to appeal the race results, arguing all lapped cars should have been allowed to pass under the regulations, but Red Bull counter-argued that this was not specified in the regulations with the word "any" used as opposed to "all". The protest was subsequently rejected, confirming Verstappen as the World Drivers' Champion, although the FIA amended the wording of the rule in question for the 2022 season onwards.
In March 2022, Verstappen signed a five-year contract extension with Red Bull Racing for the 2023 to 2028 seasons. From this season onward, he would use the number 1 instead of his regular number 33 as the reigning world champion.
Verstappen retired from second place at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix with a fuel system issue. He won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, having benefited from a pit stop during safety car conditions to pass teammate and pole-sitter Pérez, but suffered another fuel-related retirement from second place at the Australian Grand Prix. This left him 46 points behind championship leader Charles Leclerc after three races. Verstappen responded by winning the next three races; he achieved sprint victory and a grand slam at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, won from third on the grid at the Miami Grand Prix and gained from Leclerc's retirement at the Spanish Grand Prix to lead the Drivers' Championship. Further wins came at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where Leclerc again retired, and from pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix. Verstappen qualified second at the British Grand Prix, but floor damage from running over debris harmed his pace and resulted in a seventh-place finish. He took pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix and won the sprint, but was overtaken by Leclerc in the race and finished second, reducing his championship lead over Leclerc to 38 points.
Following this, Verstappen went on to win five races consecutively. Pole-sitter Leclerc crashed out of the French Grand Prix, allowing Verstappen to win. Power unit issues meant he qualified tenth for the Hungarian Grand Prix, but overtakes in the opening laps and pit stop undercuts meant he went on to take victory, despite briefly losing the lead after a spin. He set the fastest qualifying time at the Belgian Grand Prix but was demoted to 14th on the grid with a power unit components penalty. Despite this, he progressed to the race lead by lap 12 and went on to win. He took pole position and his 30th race victory at his home race, the Dutch Grand Prix, and then won from seventh on the grid at the Italian Grand Prix.
Verstappen's winning streak was ended at the Singapore Grand Prix. He ran out of fuel in qualifying and started the race eighth. He lost places at the start and later had to make an extra pit stop due to a tyre lock-up, finishing seventh. Victory from pole at the shortened Japanese Grand Prix gave him a 113-point lead in the standings with four races remaining, securing him his second World Drivers' Championship. He won the next two races, the United States and Mexico City Grands Prix, finished sixth at the São Paulo Grand Prix after a collision with Lewis Hamilton, and won the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from pole.
Abu Dhabi was his fifteenth victory of the year, breaking the record of thirteen race wins in a season shared by Michael Schumacher in 2004 and Sebastian Vettel in 2013. He won the championship with 454 points, beating Lewis Hamilton's 2019 record of 413.
Verstappen remained with Red Bull alongside Sergio Pérez for the 2023 season. His season began with a win from pole at the Bahrain Grand Prix. A driveshaft failure in qualifying at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix resulted in a 15th-place start, but he gained positions in the race to finish second behind Pérez. He again won from pole at the Australian Grand Prix despite losing positions to the Mercedes drivers during the race, but finished second to Pérez, who made a safety car pit stop, at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
After this began Verstappen's record-breaking win streak. He started ninth at the Miami Grand Prix as red flags in qualifying aborted his lap, but passed the drivers ahead including pole-sitter Pérez to win. The next four races, the Monaco, Spanish, Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix, were won comfortably from pole position by Verstappen, including Red Bull's 100th victory in Canada and a sprint win in Austria. He took pole at the British Grand Prix but briefly lost the lead to Lando Norris at the start before regaining the position to win. He qualified 0.003 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but overtook him at the first corner and went on to take victory. He claimed pole and the win in the Belgian Grand Prix sprint and set the fastest qualifying time, but started the race sixth due to an engine component penalty. He went on to overtake Pérez to win the race. He won from pole at the rain-affected Dutch Grand Prix and was victorious again at the Italian Grand Prix despite qualifying behind Carlos Sainz Jr. This victory marked his tenth consecutive win, breaking Sebastian Vettel's record of nine from 2013, and Red Bull's fifteenth consecutive win, a record previously held by McLaren with eleven in 1988.
Both Red Bulls were eliminated in Q2 at the Singapore Grand Prix and were unable to make an impression in the race, with Verstappen and Pérez finishing fifth and eighth respectively, ending the winning streak. This would be the only break in Verstappen's success, as he went on to win the remaining seven races of the season. His victory from pole at the Japanese Grand Prix gave Red Bull their sixth Constructors' Championship title. He clinched his third World Drivers' Championship title at the Qatar Grand Prix sprint despite finishing second to Oscar Piastri, then won the race from pole. He won the United States Grand Prix despite having started sixth due to a lap time deletion in qualifying. He qualified behind both Ferraris at the Mexico City Grand Prix but passed both drivers to claim the win. He took pole and victory at the São Paulo Grand Prix, and won the sprint having overtook pole-sitter Lando Norris at the first turn. He started behind Charles Leclerc at the Las Vegas Grand Prix and received a penalty for forcing him off the track, but Verstappen reclaimed the lead to win.
His pole and victory at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was his nineteenth win of the year, breaking his own record of fifteen from 2022. He scored 575 points, more than double that of second-placed Pérez and beating his own points-scoring record from 2022.
Verstappen began the 2024 season with his fifth career grand slam at the Bahrain Grand Prix and followed this with another pole and victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, his 100th Formula One podium. He took pole again at the Australian Grand Prix but retired on lap 4, his first retirement since the 2022 edition of the race, with a brake fire, ending his nine-race winning streak and 43 race-finishing streak. This was followed by a pole and win at the Japanese Grand Prix. He won the sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix despite starting fourth, then claimed pole and victory in the race. He took another sprint win at the Miami Grand Prix and started on pole position, but lost the lead to Lando Norris during the pit stops and was unable to reclaim the place, finishing the race second. He matched Ayrton Senna's record of eight consecutive poles at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and converted this into his fifth victory of the season. His pole streak ended at the Monaco Grand Prix where he qualified and finished sixth; Verstappen commented that his RB20 was losing time to its rivals in low-speed corners.
Verstappen and George Russell set identical lap times in qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix, but Russell started on pole position as he had set the lap time first. Both drivers were overtaken by Norris, but Verstappen later passed Russell then gained the lead from Norris during the pit stops to claim his 60th race win. He qualified second behind Norris at the Spanish Grand Prix but passed him at the start and then overtook Russell to win for the seventh time in 2024. Verstappen won the sprint from pole at the Austrian Grand Prix and then qualified fastest for the main race. He led most of the race but was challenged by Norris in the closing laps before the two drivers collided; Verstappen was handed a time penalty for causing the collision and finished the race fifth. He later commented that the crash did not affect his close friendship with Norris. He qualified fourth at the British Grand Prix and passed Norris in the closing laps to finish second behind Lewis Hamilton. He started third at the Hungarian Grand Prix but collided with Hamilton and went on to finish fifth. He criticised his team's race strategy and suggested that the RB20 was now behind the race-winning McLaren MCL38 on pace. Verstappen qualified fastest at the Belgian Grand Prix but started outside the top ten due to an engine component penalty. He recovered positions and was classified fourth in the race, extending his lead in the championship to 78 points over Norris going into the summer break.
At his home race, the Dutch Grand Prix, Verstappen qualified second behind Norris and gained the lead at the first corner, but was later overtaken by Norris and finished second. He qualified and finished outside the top four at both the Italian and Azerbaijan Grands Prix, after which Red Bull lost the lead of the Constructors' Championship to McLaren. He then finished second to Norris at the Singapore Grand Prix, reducing his championship advantage to 52 points. Verstappen described his car as "fucked" at the official press conference in Singapore, for which he received a punishment from the FIA to "accomplish some work of public interest". He responded by hosting an impromptu media session outside the press conference room in protest, and later suggested that the decision could push him to leave the sport. He won the sprint at the United States Grand Prix and was classified third in the race ahead of Norris, who was penalised for overtaking Verstappen off-track. This extended Verstappen's championship lead for the first time since the Belgian Grand Prix. He started second at the Mexico City Grand Prix but received 20 seconds worth of penalties for his driving during a battle for position with Norris, resulting in a sixth-place finish.
Following Verstappen's maiden pole position at the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix, former Formula One World Champion Nico Rosberg described him as the fastest driver in Formula One. Rosberg elucidated that Verstappen did not have the fastest car during the qualifying session in Hungary, emphasising that it was Verstappen's raw speed that allowed him to secure pole position: "Mercedes still had the fastest car, and it's just Verstappen with his driving that put it up there in pole."
In 2019, former Formula One World Champion Jenson Button stated that he believes Verstappen is the fastest Formula One driver ever: "I think he is the fastest driver that has ever driven an F1 car. I really do, I think he is unbelievably fast." Journalist Scott Mitchell from The Race commented: "When everything comes together, Verstappen is the quickest driver in F1 over one lap, but the odd mistake and scruffy session must be eliminated." Helmut Marko, the advisor to the Red Bull GmbH Formula One teams, stated that Verstappen is the fastest driver Red Bull have ever had.
In 2021, three-time Formula One World Champion Jackie Stewart claimed that Verstappen is the fastest driver in Formula One, but he also added that Verstappen is still in the "puppy stage" of his career. Peter Windsor, an experienced Formula One journalist, expressed Verstappen's ability to change direction "quicker than anybody else" through the high-speed section Maggots and Becketts: Silverstone's fastest sequence of corners. Windsor stressed that Verstappen's lightning-quick change of direction is a result of the innate feel he has for creating the "perfect platform" to achieve what he wants with the car during a lap. He is intrinsically able to create, for "a trillionth of a second", a minuscule "flat area" between the left and the right of a change of direction ahead of him, in order to attain a stable balance with the car before applying the next steering and throttle input. Scuderia AlphaTauri's team principal, Franz Tost, declared Verstappen to be the fastest driver in Formula One; following the Dutchman's "really deserved" maiden title triumph in 2021. On the subject of sim racing, Verstappen was deemed the "fastest" driver by IndyCar racer and former Formula One driver Romain Grosjean.
Former Formula One driver Eddie Irvine praised Verstappen, stating that he is "by far the most dominant team leader on the grid." Irvine highlighted that Verstappen "has had many different second drivers in the team and none of them have got close to him." During the 2020 season, Jenson Button stated that he does not "think there's been a driver that's annihilated their team-mates like he [Verstappen] has in a very long time." Motorsport columnist and former Formula One driver Jolyon Palmer, commented that Verstappen's maiden World Championship triumph could usher in a "new era of dominance" in the sport. Palmer wrote:
[Verstappen's] qualifying pace is frightening and has been the basis for this title-charging campaign. He's had the most pole positions of anyone with 10 – almost half of the races, and it would have been half had he completed his mesmeric Jeddah lap, which ended up being possibly Max's biggest error in a near-perfect season. For a driver who has demolished three successive team mates in three years and made only a handful of small mistakes in that time, you question what scope their [sic] even is for improvement – but if he can take his game onto another level from here, we could be about to see the start of a new era of dominance.
Journalist Scott Mitchell expounded the reason why the Dutchman's teammates have fallen short "even with the data". Mitchell wrote: "Verstappen drives mainly on intuition, and that comes from years of training and preparation. He has a database in his head which he can use immediately. Even with data, Gasly and Albon could see where he was faster, but they could never grasp how he was faster there. That's because what makes Verstappen so good is mainly unconscious." According to Mitchell, those years of training and driving on his intuition has made it impossible for other drivers to measure up to Verstappen.
Helmut Marko asserted that Verstappen's progress has moved him clear of his former Formula 1 team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, in both qualifying and race trim. "There is specific data," Marko told Autosport, "In qualifying the gap to Ricciardo is greater. The strange thing is Max sometimes slides more, but still manages to keep the tyres alive." Verstappen previously mentioned that he was three or four-tenths faster on average than "very fast qualifier" Daniel Ricciardo. Marko concluded that then 20-year-old Verstappen "clearly moved away" from Ricciardo since the "second half of the 2018 season."
Following his maiden Formula One win, at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, three-time Formula One World Champion Niki Lauda described Verstappen as the "talent of the century." Red Bull team principal Christian Horner stated that Verstappen is the best driver Red Bull have ever seen: "I have no doubt [Verstappen is] the best we have seen on one of our cars, in terms of outright raw ability and commitment. He's the best driver we’ve seen."
Former Formula One driver Gerhard Berger echoed Jenson Button's recent comments, anointing Max Verstappen as the Formula One driver of this era with the most raw talent. Speaking to Sport1, Berger ventured: “When it comes to raw talent, Max Verstappen is the most talented of all. But it’s not just about raw talent, it’s about the whole package. That means it’s not just about setting the fastest laps but also to win a race. And not just [about] one race but many and eventually a championship, and championships."
Two-time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso commented that Verstappen is the standout driver in Formula One, declaring the Red Bull star to be "one step ahead" of everyone. Alonso noted that Verstappen deserved to win the Formula One drivers’ championship in Abu Dhabi, ahead of the title decider that saw the Dutchman and Lewis Hamilton enter level on points: “Mercedes lately have been more performing and they’ve won a couple of races now, but Max is driving – in my opinion – one step ahead of all of us. We saw the [qualifying] lap in Jeddah, until he touched the wall at the last corner, that lap was coming from Max, not the Red Bull." Former Formula One driver Karun Chandhok likened Verstappen's ruthless and uncompromising attitude in race combat to Michael Schumacher's unyielding and iron-willed style of racing. Verstappen was ranked first in the annual Formula One team principals’ top ten drivers ranking in 2021.
Following Verstappen being given a warning for his driving conduct at the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix, the 18-year-old received the backing of then three-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who commented: "firstly, give the guy a break, he is 18 years old. What the frickin' heck were any of us doing at 18?"
Despite earning high praise and acclaim from Formula One drivers and experts in and out of the sport, Verstappen faced criticism in the wake of the penalties he incurred during the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Following this race, former Formula One driver Martin Brundle wrote: "Such is [his] car control and cunning, he's sometimes able to pull off the audacious moves and leave a margin of doubt as to whether it's hard racing or simply a professional foul outside of the regulations and it's those moments which are generating the confusion, controversies and inconsistencies. Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher had their faults too, and I was on the receiving end from both of them on occasions, but it's a sizeable dent on their immense reputations, not a positive." Following an impressive first half of the 2022 season, journalist David Tremayne claimed Verstappen had elevated himself to a new higher level compared to his 2021 title winning season, suggesting Verstappen's first title had made him more relaxed and "chirpy".
Following the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix, Verstappen received widespread condemnation from fans and media for incidents involving title rival Lando Norris, for which he received 20 seconds worth of time penalties. Many commentators and former drivers likened his tactics and 'win-at-all-costs' attitude to those of Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, whilst 1996 World Drivers' Champion Damon Hill characterised them as reminiscent of Wacky Races antagonist Dick Dastardly.
Verstappen has accumulated a significant fanbase from around the world, particularly from his home country of the Netherlands. The frequent association of Verstappen with the colour orange—the national colour of the Netherlands—has led to his fanbase being referred to as the Orange Army.
Several races across Europe have dedicated Verstappen grandstands to accommodate thousands of travelling Dutch fans, boosting ticket sales at Grands Prix such as in Belgium, Austria and Hungary. A Verstappen grandstand featured at the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023.
During the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix, the managing director of Honda in Formula One, Masashi Yamamoto, praised Verstappen's support, stating that "in the six years I've been involved with Honda F1, I've never seen such a great turnout as at the Dutch Grand Prix. It was like being in a football stadium."
In October 2021, Verstappen was voted the most popular Formula One driver in an official worldwide survey conducted by Nielsen Media Research and Motorsport Network, earning 14.4% of the vote with particular success in the United States and Japan.
The fan-made song "Super Max!", performed by the Pitstop Boys in 2016, went viral after his victory at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, topping the Spotify Viral 50 chart in the Netherlands and reaching number two in the United Kingdom. Another fan-made EDM track "33 Max Verstappen", was released in 2023, eventually going viral on social media due to internet memes referencing the hook: "tu tu tu du, Max Verstappen".
* Season still in progress.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Van Amersfoort Racing
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicates fastest lap)
† Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance. ‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. * Season still in progress.
Verstappen holds the following Formula One records:
Original Wikipedia article last retrieved on 01 November 2024.