Born in 1997, Max Verstappen is a 27-year-old Dutch Formula 1 Red Bull race driver. Verstappen began karting when he was only four years old and proceeded to international karting by the age of 10. By 2014, he raced for the Red Bull Junior Team in Formula 3 and surpassed all expectations, advancing to his Formula 1 debut in 2015 at the Australian Grand Prix, making him the youngest driver on the grid in F1 at that time. In 2016, he was promoted to the senior Red Bull Racing team, where he won the Spanish Grand Prix at the age of 18, making him the youngest Grand Prix winner in F1 history.
Between the 2016 and 2020 seasons, Verstappen had multiple wins, along with many crashes. His driving was often viewed as aggressive, as he caused collisions and forced other drivers off the track, drawing multiple penalties from race officials and criticism from other drivers, including his own team. However, in the 2019 season, Red Bull switched engine suppliers, benefiting Verstappen as he won 5 races and 20 podiums, including the races he won, and finished third in the drivers’ championship in both the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
The 2021 season was a non-stop battle between Max Verstappen and 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton throughout the entirety of the season. Verstappen and Hamilton were constantly fighting for 1st place in every Grand Prix, and would consistently finish races 40 seconds before other drivers crossed the finish line. There were a total of 22 races during the 2021 season. Hamilton ended the season with 8 wins, while Verstappen ended the season with 10 wins, narrowly surpassing Lewis in the final championship race in Abu Dhabi. Hamilton led almost the entire race in Abu Dhabi, but in turn 5, Verstappen managed to outmaneuver Hamilton and bring home his first world championship in a brilliant race.
At the beginning of the 2022 season, the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) implemented new regulations, causing significant changes to the engineering and design of the cars. Despite the changes, Verstappen still dominated the season, along with his teammate Sergio Pérez, and won his second world championship. The dominance continued into 2023, arguably his best season yet. Not only did he win his third world championship, Verstappen set the record for most consecutive wins in a row, winning 10 races back-to-back in the first half of the season, and won a total of 19 out of the 22 races in the season, breaking the record for the most wins in a single season. The 2023 season wasn’t even a competition due to Max Verstappen; on top of breaking the two previous records, he had a total of 575 points, setting the record for most points scored in a season.
The domination continued into the 2024 season, with Verstappen immediately winning the first two races. However, he suffered a mechanical failure at the Australian Grand Prix, which prevented him from finishing the race for the first time in nearly two years. After winning two more races, Verstappen struggled for a short period of time before he regained his success. While the 2023 season was his best, one of his greatest wins was the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix. During qualifying, Lance Stroll crashed, causing an immediate end to Verstappen’s and a handful of the other drivers’ qualifying races. This accident caused him to start in the 17th position on the grid, along with terrible rainy conditions. It’s often said that when the drivers race in the rain, you’re truly able to see who is the best because it puts them all on the same playing field. As soon as the red light went out, Verstappen started making moves and made up seven places by the first corner on lap two. As Will Buxton, a Formula 1 journalist, said, throughout the race, many drivers were saying the conditions were so terrible that they shouldn’t even be driving; however, “On a day when many of his rivals struggled to even see through the spray, Verstappen didn’t put a foot wrong. He was spellbinding from start to finish, without question his best drive of the year, and one of the best of his career.” Throughout the season, he maintained a comfortable lead in the world championship and ultimately won his fourth championship.
Unfortunately, in the current 2025 season, Verstappen hasn’t dominated the grid as he had in the past. He is currently third in the championship. As of September 22, 2025, he’s currently 44 points behind Lando Norris and 69 points behind Oscar Piastri, who is leading the championship. With only seven races left, it is unlikely that he will win the championship this year unless he wins the remaining races. Nonetheless, there is still hope for the years to come that he’ll regain his dominance.
