


He went on to win the race and become the youngest Grand Prix winner ever! Verstappen takes the lead at Red Bull Racing During the race weekend in Spain, he took a seat in Red Bull's F1 car and took on the challenge: a race not soon to be forgotten.Īfter a bizarre opening lap in which Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton rammed each other off the track, the Red Bull driver took the lead. The pressure on Verstappen's shoulders to perform is therefore enormous, as he must show that Red Bull has made the right choice. The Russian managed a podium finish in the race before the change! Promotion to Red Bull RacingĪfter just four races in 2016, an announcement comes along that turns Formula 1 on its head: the Dutchman replaces the sidelined Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull Racing, who in turn takes Verstappen's place at Toro Rosso. Something that would change very quickly in 2016. Twice he has to settle for fourth place in 2015. Immediately in that first race, he seemed to be on his way to points for a long time, until he dropped out with a technical problem.Īfter that, Max came extremely close to grabbing a podium twice in his first season in Formula 1, namely in Hungary and the United States. In doing so, he made history: at seventeen, he was the youngest driver in Formula 1 ever to appear on the grid in Australia 2015 alongside the then 20-year-old Carlos Sainz. Helmut Marko was so impressed with the young driver that he offered him a seat at Scuderia Toro Rosso for 2015. With no Formula 3 title in his pocket, Max still moves to Formula 1 as a member of the Red Bull junior programme. For the Limburger, just a small blemish on the overall picture, as the step up to Formula 1 had already been made anyway. Although he won several races, it is the Frenchman (and later competitor in Formula 1) Esteban Ocon who took the title in 2014. The then still young Dutchman drove one year in Formula 3 for Van Amersfoort Racing. After that, the Red Bull driver's career goes sky high. All this before making his first metres in Formula 3. A pastime that the Dutchman later continued in karting and Formula 3, before moving on to the premier class of motorsport: Formula 1.Īfter years of karting, where he won several world titles, he began his motor racing career in Formula Renault 2.0 cars and the Florida Winter Series. As the son of Formula 1 driver Jos Verstappen, young Max can be found on the race track early in life.
