Belgian Max Verstappen is Formula 1's rising star

Two weekends ago saw the most dramatic Formula One race in years, and it was all down to one young man: Max Verstappen. He set a record that will almost certainly never be broken.

Verstappen’s victory in the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya on 15 May makes him the youngest driver in history to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix – by more than two years. He is 18 years and 228 days old.

Verstappen broke the record set by his predecessor at Red Bull, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel. And the reason no-one is likely to surpass it is that so young was Verstappen when he made his debut last year that F1 has since set a minimum age of 18 for entry into the sport.

When he made his Formula One debut as a 17-year-old last year, Verstappen was tipped as the sport’s rising star ‒ but few had expected him to claim a Grand Prix win so soon.

He drives for the Netherlands but was born in Hasselt, destined to compete in the world of motor sport. Jos Verstappen, his father, was Michael Schumacher’s teammate at Benetton during a 107-race career, while his mother, Sophie Kumpen, was also a successful karter, winning two Belgian championships.

Max soon followed in their footsteps after receiving his first kart at the age of four. In his first years as a junior kart driver, he won nearly every race he entered. By 2012, having stepped up to international karting, Verstappen had become European and world karting champion. Moving up to F3, Verstappen collected 10 wins to finish third in the FIA European Championship.

Formula One teams soon began to take note of him, and he joined Red Bull’s junior driver programme, Toro Rosso, for the 2015 season. But not for long: After just four races, he made his Formula One Grand Prix debut in the 2015 season opening Australian Grand Prix.

Verstappen is now the fifth favourite amongst bookmakers to win the championship, albeit at distant 40-1 odds. But even if he doesn’t win it this year, as a rare talent, he already has the world at his feet.

Photo courtesy Red Bull