Max Verstappen He was only 17 years, 5 months and 15 days old when he made his Formula 1 debut with Toro Rosso, which was Red Bull’s junior team at the time. An absolute record for precocity Stroll (18), alguersuari And Alonso (19). He became the youngest driver to score points and win a race in a short time. Grand Prix, 18 years and 228 days.
It happened over a weekend in 2016 that would change his life forever. Maximum He was recently promoted to Red Bull and came to the Circuit de Barcelona after Doctor Helmut Marko removed the Russian Kvyat and gave the seat to him. After the accident Hamilton And rosberg At the first corner, Max took over the lead of the race and held on until the end to earn his first victory. A promising start.
The first one is against Hamilton.
It took him five years to win his first world title in 2021. Armed with a more mature and eventually competitive car, Verstappen battled Lewis Hamilton until the final corner in one of the most intense and controversial finishes in history. The suffering and pressure he experienced in Abu Dhabi tested his character and strong will. There was Max He was shaped under the influence of his father, Jos, a former Formula 1 driver and one-time partner of Michael Schumacher.
He captured the next two titles with tremendous authority. VerstappenTurning 26 last Saturday, he undoubtedly has the best car on the grid. RB19 is the masterpiece of behind-the-scenes genius Adrian Newey. However, it would be naive to think that he won only because of his car. After ten seasons in the ‘big circus’, the Dutch driver is driving at his best level and making almost no mistakes.
.
in 2022 Verstappen He bid farewell to a record-breaking season with 454 points, 15 wins, 17 podiums and 7 pole positions; this was crucial for Red Bull to regain the constructors’ championship after 4 races. It was Vettel (2010-13). He’s outdone himself this season. He celebrated his team’s sixth World Cup in Japan this weekend He won the drivers’ championship with six races remaining in Qatar, equaling Michael Schumacher’s achievement in 2002 and join the select club of three-time champions Jack Brabhan, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna and his ‘father-in-law’ Nelson Piquet. With a total of 13 wins so far this year, he can reach 19 if he wins all the remaining races.
An amazing talent
He was born on 30 September 1997 in Hasselt, Belgium, 40 minutes from the famous Spa Francorchamps circuit, but acquired Dutch citizenship. Max got his first card at the age of 4. and I started racing when I was 7, He was always guided by his father, who competed in 106 Grand Prix in Formula 1 between 1994 and 2003. Although the overly harsh methods used by Jos to direct his talented son’s sports career have been repeatedly pointed out, the three-time champion defends him by saying: “He gave up his career to help me. How many parents do that? I’m so grateful.” “Because without him I wouldn’t be here.”
On his meteoric rise after winning the 2013 karting world championship and racing in European F3 in a single season, Max managed to attract the attention of the powerful Helmut Marko. Director of the Red Bull Young Driver Development Program and right-hand man of the owner of the energy drink company Dieter Mateschitz, He died last year, seeing him as “the pilot of those that appear every decade”.
‘orange tide’
When I was 16, in August 2014, Verstappen knew he would replace Jean Eric Vergne The following season he raced for Toro Rosso and received a Super License to race in Formula One as a gift the day before he turned 17. A few days later, he rode a car for the first time in practice 1 for the Japanese Grand Prix. And on March 15, 2015, when he was 17 years, 5 months and 15 days old, he started writing his success story.
Verstappen is a true mass idol in his country. ‘Marea Orange’ follows him on tours around the world. “I was never ‘Mad Max’. Simply put, I am Max, a professional driver trying to achieve the best result for his team,” emphasizes the Red Bull driver, who denies his nickname and refuses to appear as the protagonist of the hit Netflix hit ‘Drive to Survive’: “Contextual things, “It just makes us look like heroes or villains when we’re pilots,” they think.
His personal life also flows in harmony. He officially confirmed his relationship with in January 2021. Kelly Piquet, former partner of Daniil Kvyat, who is nine years older than him and has a daughter named Penelope. Beautiful young woman is the daughter of elders Nelson Piquet Triple Formula 1 world champion (1981, 1983 and 1987), which Max equaled in the historical rankings.