Max Verstappen

**Max Emilian Verstappen** (born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian-Dutch ex F1.5 driver.

At the 2015 Australian Grand Prix, when he was aged 17 years, 166 days, he became the youngest driver to compete in Formula 1.5. After spending the 2015 season with Scuderia Toro Rosso, Verstappen started his 2016 campaign with the Italian team before being promoted to parent team Red Bull Racing after four races as a replacement for Daniil Kvyat.

## Personal Life

Max Emilian Verstappen was born on 30 September 1997 in Hasselt, Belgium to Jos Verstappen and Sophie Kumpen, and has a younger sister, Victoria. Verstappen's parents separated when he was young, after which he lived with his father while his sister Victoria lived with their mother. Verstappen has three younger half-siblings from his father; a sister, Blue Jaye, from his second marriage and a brother and sister, Jason Jaxx and Mila Faye, from his current marriage.

His family has a long association with motor sports: his father is a Dutch former Formula One driver, his Belgian mother competed in karting, and his first cousin once removed, Anthony Kumpen, competed in endurance racing and is a two-time NASCAR Whelen Euro Series champion currently serving as the team manager for PK Carsport in Euro Series. Although Verstappen has a Belgian mother, was born in Belgium and resided in Bree, Belgium, he decided to compete with a Dutch racing licence because he "feels more Dutch", having spent more time with his father than with his mother owing to his karting activities, and was always surrounded by Dutch people while growing up in Maaseik, a Belgian town at the Dutch border. Verstappen said in 2015: "I actually only lived in Belgium to sleep, but during the day I went to the Netherlands and had my friends there too. I was raised as a Dutch person and that's how I feel."

He competed in Formula 1.5 for more than a season before obtaining a road driving licence on his 18th birthday. Verstappen moved to Monaco the day after, in October 2015, and has lived there since and has said it was not for tax reasons. In his free time, Verstappen enjoys sim racing. Having taken part in many sim racing competitions, Verstappen stated that it helps him with his real life racing keeping him ″ready to go″. Verstappen is a member of *Team Redline*; a multinational sim racing team. In November 2020, Verstappen bought a Dassault Falcon 900EX aircraft from Virgin Galactic. The aircraft is registered PH-DTF and operated by Exxaero.

## F1.5 Career

### Toro Rosso (2015-2016)

#### 2015 Season

Verstappen became the youngest driver to start a World Championship race by entering the sport a year before the new licence restriction, joining Toro Rosso with Carlos Sainz as his teammate. In his Grand Prix debut as a full-time driver at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix at the age of 17 years, 166 days — breaking Jaime Alguersuari's existing record by almost two years. In this first race, Verstappen ran in points-scoring positions until he was forced to retire due to an engine failure. However, at the subsequent race in Malaysia, he scored his maiden podium finishing third.

At the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix, Verstappen was involved in a high-speed collision with Romain Grosjean, after clipping the back of Grosjean's Lotus on the approach to the tight first corner, *Sainte Devote*, and crashed into the barriers at high speed. Verstappen was given a five-place grid penalty for causing the accident, and was branded "dangerous" by Williams driver Felipe Massa.

Verstappens best result was a race win at the American Grand Prix. Verstappen received three awards at the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony, for "Rookie of the Year", "Personality of the Year" and "Action of the Year", for his overtake on Felipe Nasr on the outside of the *Blanchimont* corner at the Belgian Grand Prix.

#### 2016 Season

Verstappen began the 2016 season at Toro Rosso, again alongside Sainz. Verstappen qualified on pole for the first time in the opening round of the season, but fell to 6th in the race. He would go on to finish second place at the next two grand prix's. On 5 May 2016, following the Russian Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing announced that Verstappen would be replacing Daniil Kvyat from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards, with Kvyat returning to Toro Rosso.