Here is the young lion who, at the end of one of the most incredible races in the history of F1, mocked Lewis Hamilton, ruler of speed in the era of hybrid engines. His name is Max Verstappen, he drives a Red Bull and on the Abu Dhabi track he won the tenth race of the season and his first world title. Bet it won’t stop.
Born in Belgium 24 years ago, Max is of Dutch nationality, that of his father Johannes, a former Benetton and Minardi driver. With modest results (107 races between 1994 and 2003, with two podiums) so as to entrust his son with the task of reaching those goals denied him. A complex relationship binds to his parent, who is still present on the track today, based on a rigid education, just mitigated by his mother Sophie Kumpen, herself a kart driver, born into a family of professional racers. Could little Max do anything else in life, if not get behind the wheel of a four-wheeled racing car? The beginning of the career of ‘Mad Max’ (the nickname will arrive in F1 to testify the aggressive style) is very early.
He begins to compete on karts at the age of eight in the Belgian and Dutch championships. And he wins immediately. In 2012 he takes the KF2 Master Series, as well as the following year, together with the Nations Cup KF3. Burn the stages. He got into the Formula 3 single-seaters in 2014. He took part in the FIA European Championship with the Van Amersfoort Racing team car. Third at the end of the year, with 10 victories, six in a row, including the one on the historic Zandvoort track.
Helmut Marko, a consultant to the Red Bull team and its owner, the Austrian milardaire Dietrich Mateschitz, notes it, who calls him in the Red Bull Junior Team and then wants him in the Toro Rosso satellite team. On 3 October 2014, at the age of 17 years and 3 days, he made his debut in the Friday free practice of the Japanese GP. Talent is undoubted, some doubts remain about age. It’s easy to get burned by getting so high up so early. Marko, however, sees in him the coolness of the champion and in 2015 he makes his debut. Not yet eighteen, Max gets two fourth places, in Hungary and in the United States. And he sets two records: in Australia he is the youngest ever to make his F1 debut and in Malaysia the earliest in collecting points.
He is impressed by speed, recklessness on the verge of unconsciousness, dedication to work. Contacts on the track are frequent and relationships with colleagues are not easy. But Verstappen doesn’t mind being considered a public danger. “Get used to it – he replies -, everyone has their own style.
This is mine “. And he doesn’t let himself be intimidated. To an icon like Niki Lauda who, after a duel on the edge of 300 hours with Raikkonen’s Ferrari, advises him to contact a psychiatrist, he replies:” He should accompany me … “. But there are also those in that bold boy who see the clearest talent since the days of Ayrton Senna. Another link with Brazil comes from his girlfriend Kelly Piquet, daughter of Nelson, three times F1 world champion .
His first year as a rookie is excellent and in 2016, once the season has begun, he is promoted to Red Bull. He gets into the new single-seater in Catalonia and on Sunday 15 May, on the Montmeló circuit, Verstappen achieves another record: at 18 years, 7 months and 15 days he becomes the youngest driver to win a grand prix in the history of F1. The successes become two in 2017 and 2018, three in 2019, two more in 2020, a contracted season due to Covid. The opponent to beat is always Hamilton. Mission accomplished in the Arab Emirates, Max the predestined
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Source From: Ansa
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