Max Verstappen

Max Emilian Verstappen was born on 30 September 1997 to a family deeply rooted in motorsport. His father, Jos Verstappen, was a Dutch former Formula One racing driver, while his mother, Sophie Kumpen, was a Belgian former karting racer. This dual heritage gave Max both Belgian and Dutch nationality, though he would go on to compete in Formula One representing the Netherlands.

Growing up in this racing environment, Verstappen's path into motorsport seemed almost inevitable, with both parents having competed at high levels in their respective disciplines.

Verstappen found success early in junior karting before progressing through single-seater racing categories. His junior career included competition in KF3, WSK World Series, KZ2 and European Formula 3, where he distinguished himself by beating several records.

This impressive junior record set the stage for his remarkably early entry into Formula One, demonstrating the talent that would make him the youngest driver ever to compete in the sport.

Verstappen made history at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix when, aged just 17 years and 166 days, he became the youngest driver ever to compete in Formula One, racing for Scuderia Toro Rosso. After starting the 2016 season with the Italian team, he was promoted to parent team Red Bull after just four races, replacing Daniil Kvyat.

His debut race for Red Bull at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix proved immediately successful, as the 18-year-old won the race to become both the youngest-ever driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix and the first Dutch driver to achieve an F1 victory.

Verstappen's championship breakthrough came at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where his victory made him the first Dutch driver to win the Formula One World Championship and the 34th Formula One World Drivers' Champion. He followed this with consecutive championships in 2022 and 2023, making him only the fifth F1 racer in history to achieve a hat-trick of three consecutive world titles.

His dominance reached new heights during his championship runs. He scored his first career hat-trick of wins at the 2021 French Grand Prix and achieved his first grand slam at the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix. Additional grand slams followed at the 2022 Imola GP and 2023 Spanish GP. Most remarkably, he became the first in F1 history to win ten consecutive Grands Prix when he triumphed at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix.

As of the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, Verstappen had accumulated 48 victories and 30 pole positions. He has secured his future with Red Bull until at least the end of the 2028 season after signing a contract extension.