30 Mind-Blowing Facts About Max Verstappen Every Fan Must Know

Max Verstappen, who first broke in the racing scene in 2014, holds several records for youngest driver in history. An extremely talent driver, Verstappen seems to be improving every year, who is poised to become one of the greatest F1 drivers in the world. With his victory at the Monaco Grand Prix, he became the first Dutch F1 driver to lead the World Championship, on May 23, 2021. Here are some really interesting facts about the F1 driver that will blow your mind:

"Max Verstappen" by mrlaugh is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

1.  At the 2019 Australian Grand Prix, he qualified in 4th and finished in 3rd place, which marked the first podium finish for a Honda-powered driver since the 2008 British Grand Prix.
2.  At the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen took his first Formula One victory, becoming the youngest driver ever to win a Formula One Grand Prix at the age of 18 years and 228 days.
3.  During testing, he drove for Josef Kaufmann Racing, going faster than Formula Renault regulars like Matt Parry and Stejin Schothorst. In fact, at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo near Valencia, he set a faster time than more experienced drivers like Eddie Cheever and Tatiana Calderon.
4.  At the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, by taking part in the first free practice, he became the youngest driver to take part in a Grand Prix weekend.
5.  He became the youngest driver to start a World Championship race, when he joined the sport a year before the new license restriction, in his Grand Prix debut as a full-time driver at the age of 17 years, 166 days, at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix.
6.  Max Emilian Verstappen was born on September 30, 1997 to Jos Verstappen and Sophie Kumpen in Hasselt, Belgium. He has a younger sister named Victoria Verstappen.
7.  His father Jos is a Dutch former Formula One driver, while his mother competed in Kart racing. The two-time NASCAR Whelen Euro Series champion - Anthony Jumpen is his first cousin once removed.
8.  Despite being born in Belgium, and residing in Bree, Belgium, Max decided to compete with a Dutch racing license, as he claims he “feels more Dutch.”
9.  He has spent more time with his father than with his mother, and being raised in Maaseik, a Belgian town at the Dutch border, he always had Dutch people surrounding him.
10.  He competed in Formula One for more than a season before even obtaining a road driving license on his 18th birthday, as he actually started karting at the age of 4.

"File:2014 F3 HockenheimringII Max Verstappen by 2eight DSC6547.jpg" by Stefan Brending (2eight) is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

11.  For his home province of Limburg, Belgium, he competed in the Mini Junior championship. Verstappen graduated to the Rotax Max Minimax class and won the Belgian championship in the year 2006.
12.  He won the 2007 Dutch Minimax championship, racing in a CRG kart entered by his father. Verstappen won the Dutch and Belgian Minimax championship as well as the Belgian Cadet championship.
13.  He joined Team Pex Racing, a CRG customer team in the year 2009, and won the Flemish Minimax championship and the Belgian KF5 championship.
14.  When he stepped up to the International karting in 2010, he was signed by CRG to race in their factory team at world and European championships.
15.  He finished second to Alexander Albon at the KF3 World Cup, but beat him at the WSK Euro Series, eventually winning it, by beating Robert Visoiu.
16.  At the age of 15, Verstappen won the 2013 World KZ championship at Varennes-sur-Allier, France, in KZ1, the highest karting category.
17.  His first experience in a racing car was at the Pembrey Circuit on October 11, 2013, where he drove 160 laps in a Barazi-Epsilon FR2.0-10 Formula Renault car, provided by Dutch team Manor MP Motorsport.
18.  Verstappen announced on January 16, 2014, that he would make his racing debut in the Florida Winter series. He won his first Formula race at Palm Beach International Raceway at the second race weekend on February 5, 2014.
19.  He won his second race at Homestead–Miami Speedway after beating Nicholas Latifi by 0.004 seconds on February 19, 2014.
20.  He drove in the 2014 FIA European Formula 3 Championship for Van Amersfoort Racing, finishing his maiden car racing season third, winning 10 races in the process.

"Max Verstappen Giving Me the Evil Eye" by Rob Alter is licensed under CC BY 2.0

21.  Verstappen joined the Red Bull Junior Team after testing a Formula Renault 3.5 car in August 2014. However, he also considered an offer from Mercedes to join their driver development program.
22.  During the 2015 season, at the race in Malaysia, he qualified sixth and finished the race in seventh place, scoring his first Formula One points aged 17 years, 180 days, breaking the record of youngest driver to score World Championship points.
23.  He was also involved in a high-speed collision with Romain Grosjean at the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix, where he was given a five-place grid penalty for causing the accident.
24.  At the end of the season he was awarded three awards – Rookie of the Year, Personality of the Year and Action of the Year, at the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony.
25.  During the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix, Verstappen collided with Räikkönen at the first corner, pushed Vettel, Räikkönen and Pérez wide at Les Combes, and aggressively blocked Räikkönen on the Kemmel straight.
26.  In 2020, Verstappen signed a contract extension to race for Red Bull until the end of 2023. He started the season at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix at second, but retired early due to flywheel related problem.
27.  He won the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone, having started from fourth. His performance was described by the Red Bull Racing Team Principal, Christian Horner, as simply “Amazing.”
28.  He became the first Dutch F1 driver to take pole position, for the Hungarian Grand Prix. He also set a new lap record on the Hungaroring, becoming the 100th polesitter in the sport's history.
29.  At the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix, he took pole position, and led every lap from start to finish, setting the fastest lap record. He won his first career Grand Slam, becoming the youngest to do so, at the age of 23 years and 277 days.
30.  He also became the first driver to sweep a triple header, with three wins in three consecutive weekends, starting with French Grand Prix, Styrian Grand Prix and Austrian Grand Prix, held on June 20, June 27, and July 4, 2021 respectively.
31.  Max Verstappen Net Worth: $60 Million