Max Verstappen (VER) made headlines when he secured a place in F1 – the world’s biggest motorsport – just eight months after his first professional race.

1. The origins of his passion for racingVER is the son of Jos Verstappen (the first Dutch driver to stand on the Formula 1 podium) and kart racer Sophie-Marie Kumpen. In 2013, he used his successful kart racing career as a springboard for his single-seater career.

VER’s father retired from F1 in 2003. Just two years later, the seven-year-old VER scored his first kart victory in Belgium. This was the start of an unbeaten run that lasted for the next three seasons – the Belgian ‘mini’ for two years, and then the ‘mini max’ format.

By the age of 11, VER had won the Belgian Cadet Championship, and his career took off from there. International competition did not slow him down. VER won the WSK World Series KF3 and also claimed the European title.

In 2012, VER continued to compete in various karting classes with great success. He has amassed an impressive collection of titles. Among them is the CIK-FIA KZ World Championship, marking victories over some highly regarded opponents (including former F1 driver Jaime Alguersuari).

At 16, VER began racing in slicks-and-wings. His first stop was the 2014 Florida Winter Series, which featured dozens of races over four weeks. VER had a bad start when he crashed into Antonio Fuoco in the pit lane, but eventually won two races in the series (which featured drivers from Formula Renault 2.0 and F3). However, the 2014 Florida Winter Series had no qualifying system and no overall winner.

VER then opted to enter the European F3 series (considered the most competitive F3 series) and race for his father’s former team, Van Amersfoort. VER quickly won his second F3 race. At the peak of his form, he had six consecutive wins at Spa-Francorchamps and Norisring.

His seventh win in the prestigious F3 series came on his home turf at Zandvoort, Netherlands. However, this victory did not count towards the rankings. After that race, VER’s rival Esteban Ocon led the drivers’ standings with 74 points, thanks in part to the superior durability of his car. Then in Moscow, Ocon himself won over 100 points with a spectacular hat-trick.

VER failed to take advantage of the opportunity to win at the Red Bull Ring (Austria), partly due to a controversial penalty after a collision with Antonio Fuoco. However, even here, Red Bull saw his potential before making their move.

In addition to Red Bull, Mercedes also showed interest in the young driver. But finally on 12 August, VER was announced as the latest addition to Red Bull’s junior driver program. The line-up included Carlos Sainz Jnr (leading Formula Renault 3.5) and Alex Lynn (leading GP3), along with promising Formula Renault 3.5 rookie Pierre Gasly.

Surprisingly, just six days later, another announcement was made by Red Bull – VER would race for Toro Rosso’s junior team for the 2015 season, replacing Jean-Eric Vergne. By the end of the year, he had already taken part in three F1 practice rounds in preparation for his F1 debut at just 17 years old.

2. Verstappen’s F1 journeyVER’s development in F1 was so rapid that the FIA ​​introduced a series of new rules to prevent young (or inexperienced) drivers from reaching the top too quickly. However, VER quickly put those concerns to rest with his maturity in his first season in F1.

Technically, the Toro Rosso STR10, despite its aerodynamically efficient chassis, was hampered by a weak and unreliable engine (a Renault engine). This meant that VER did not get the results he deserved despite his excellent performance. In particular, at the Chinese GP, his car suddenly stopped on the pit lane with only a few laps left.

However, VER achieved early success with two P4 finishes at the Hungarian GP and the US GP that season.

He finished his first F1 season with 49 points, finishing 12th and becoming known for his extremely adventurous style of racing. Red Bull quickly retained VER for the following season when they learned that Ferrari were also interested in signing him.

2.1. Red Bull Team – 2016To quickly see VER’s true potential, Red Bull increased his salary to the same level as Daniil Kvyat.

VER repaid their faith with a remarkable debut victory at the Spanish GP in 2016. This was partly due to two Mercedes drivers colliding on the first lap and having to retire. VER also benefited from the fact that his new teammate Daniel Ricciardo (RIC) had a poor strategy in the final laps.

Sky SportsAt the Brazilian GP, ​​he produced a masterful performance in difficult conditions. On a wet track, he clung to Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) to second place, avoiding disaster when the RB12 slid at high speed, and then accelerated miraculously after a late pit stop to take P3.

2.2. Red Bull Team – 2017A series of technical failures marred VER’s second season with Red Bull. However, he added two more victories to his career tally at the Malaysian GP and the Mexican GP. In the latter, he overtook two title contenders, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton (HAM), right at the start of the race.

Dutch NewsVER also raced well at the Chinese GP and the Austin GP (USA). In the latter, he received a five-second penalty for leaving the track when overtaking Raikkonen and finished fourth.

Red Bull then took the opportunity to extend VER’s contract.

2.3. Red Bull Team – 2018The opening races of 2018 saw the young Dutchman falter somewhat. VER wasted points due to a series of crashes at the Chinese GP, a collision with his teammate at the Azerbaijan GP and an accident at the Monaco GP.

However, he bounced back in style, finishing on the podium 11 times compared to RIC’s modest two. During the season, VER also took his first win at his home Red Bull Ring. But at the Brazilian GP, ​​he collided with Ocon’s car and finished second. After the race, VER clashed with his rival and was disciplined by the FIA.

Sky Sports2.4. Red Bull Team – 2019In the first half of 2019, VER quickly scored 181 points. This was his best result to date. He also had five podium finishes and finished every race in the top five. This streak lasted until the Belgian GP, ​​where VER had an accident with Kimi Raikkonen and had to retire. As a result, he finished P8.

At the Singapore GP, he started fourth and finished third. At the Mexican GP, ​​VER had the fastest lap in qualifying 3 but ignored the yellow flag at the end of qualifying 2 and was demoted three places. At the start of the race, he and HAM fought for third place but both went into the grass and lost control. VER then passed Valtteri Bottas but had a collision and had to pit. After these incidents, he finished sixth overall.

The StarWith P2 at the Abu Dhabi GP, VER completed his best season in F1, finishing third in the standings with 278 points.

2.5. Red Bull Team – 2020On 7 January 2020, Red Bull announced a three-year contract extension with VER. This means he will stay with the team until at least the end of the 2023 season.

VER then performed very solidly, consistently finishing on the podium and his car was rated as the second best after Mercedes. He won the 70th anniversary race at Silverstone (UK), where tyres were paramount and Red Bull had the best car in this aspect. VER managed to win well and beat HAM, marking his ninth F1 victory.

News in 24However, for the rest of the season, VER was unlucky. He fought his way to third place in the standings behind two Mercedes, and added his 10th F1 victory at the Abu Dhabi GP from pole position.

2.6. Red Bull Team – 20212021 was a brilliant year for VER. For example, by the end of the Mexican GP, ​​he had nine podiums to his name, and was first in the standings with 287.5. In particular, he achieved a hat-trick with three wins at the French GP, the Styrian GP and the Austrian GP.

F1 ReaderHowever, in reality, VER also had many unlucky times. At the Azerbaijan GP, ​​when he was the leading driver and only three laps to go, he suffered a tire blowout and crashed into the barrier. At the British GP, on the first lap, he had to retire due to a collision with HAM when both were fighting for the lead. Not only that, disaster struck VER again at the Italian GP, ​​when he left the pits slowly and caused a serious accident for HAM, forcing both of them to retire.

 

But then, at the “fateful” finale in Abu Dhabi, where the season championship would be decided, fans around the world witnessed a surprisingly dramatic scenario. HAM’s performance throughout the race was superior to VER’s performance. However, this gap was no longer meaningful after the safety car was launched due to the collision of Nicholas Latifi (of the Williams team).

Taking advantage of this opportunity brilliantly, along with a brand new set of soft tyres, VER turned the tables and won the first F1 championship of his career. Of course, there will still be many controversies surrounding the decisions of the race control at that time, but looking back at VER’s performance since the beginning of the season, we cannot deny the fact that he completely deserved this supreme title.

2.7. Team Red Bull – 20222022 saw VER continue to wear the colours of the Austrian team, and especially driving a very fast RB18 on the straights. Despite the reliability issues of the car at the beginning of the season, VER showed how he really dominated the season in every race.

Races ending with VER in first place and a gap of 20-30 seconds over P2 were no longer uncommon. By the end of the Japanese GP, he was also the driver with the most stage wins and pole positions (through qualifying).

And most notably, VER officially won his second championship at Suzuka. He did this 4 races early, with 366 points, 113 points ahead of second-placed Sergio Pérez (also racing for Red Bull), and 114 points ahead of Monaco driver Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).

Unlike last year, it can be said that this year, VER has completely convinced the majority of F1 fans. The Dutch driver’s stable performance, maturity and “over-the-top” speed even made many people feel that this year’s season was too boring (compared to the drama of last year).

Since this year, along with Red Bull, VER has emerged as a rare star, and is also a leading candidate for the championship. How far will his path with F1 go? Will VER continue to dominate the last 4 races of this year’s season? Please follow along on Otoman.