Is Verstappen 'a little better' than Leclerc now?
May 18 - World champion Max Verstappen is "a little better" than his 2022 title rival Charles Leclerc. That is the view of former Formula 1 driver Shinji Nakano, who also thinks..
Max Verstappen info & statistics
| Name | Max Verstappen |
| Country |  Netherlands |
| Place of Birth | Hasselt (Belgium) |
| Date of Birth | Sep 30th 1997 - 24 years old |
| Season Entries | 8 |
| First Race | 2015 Australian F1 GP |
| Last Race | 2022 Miami F1 GP |
| First Pole | 2019 Hungarian F1 GP |
| Last Pole | 2022 Emilia Romagna F1 GP |
| First Win | 2016 Spanish F1 GP |
| Last Win | 2022 Miami F1 GP |
| First Podium | 2016 Spanish F1 GP |
| Last Podium | 2022 Miami F1 GP |
Max Verstappen F1 Stats | |
| Drivers' Titles | 1 |
| Race Starts | 146 |
| Race Wins | 23 (15,8%) |
| Pole Positions | 14 (9,6%) |
| Fastest Laps | 18 (12,3%) |
| Podiums | 63 (43,2%) |
| Points Finishes | 112 (76,7%) |
| Retirements | 31 (21,2%) |
| Hat-tricks | 4 |
| Wins from pole | 10 |
| Front Row Starts | 33 |
| Total Points | 1.643 |
| Total Laps | 7.595 |
Verstappen Merchandise »
Red Bull Racing Merchandise »
Biography
Max Verstappen Biography
Max Verstappen
Red Bull stunned the world of sport when they announced that they had signed 17-year-old Max Verstappen to their Toro Rosso team for 2015.
But what a decision is has proven to be so far. Verstappen was fearless, brave and natural as he made quite a statement in his first season.
His daring overtakes are already the stuff of legend, and it is already a question of when, not, he will be a world champion.
The Dutchman is said to be a once-in-a-lifetime driver, but it is still highly ambitious and a massive risk to thrust him into the sport’s limelight at such a tender age.
To put it into context, Verstappen is ten years younger than Sebastian Vettel, and he was only two when Jenson Button made his debut.
Max Verstappen
Button raced against Max’s father, Jos, who carried the Dutch flag admirably for years. However, his son enjoys a greater reputation already.
Verstappen is, obviously, the sport’s youngest ever driver but it has benefited him that his team-mate is 21-year-old Carlos Sainz, another youngster.
Verstappen and Sainz will fight it out to show Red Bull which of them is their next world champion, and the Dutchman will be under immediate pressure to succeed, such is the reputation that has been created around him.
However, his display in 2014's Formula 3 championship caught the eye of all the major teams. 10 wins, 16 podiums and seven poles saw him finish third in the championship, and so began a race to sign him.
Red Bull won. Ferrari and Mercedes were interested and will rue missing out. This season and probably every other season he races, Verstappen will be scrutinised more than most.
Red Bull says he’s as good as Ayrton Senna, and after being hired at such a young age. After one season, he looks every bit as skilled as the Brazil legend.
Max Verstappen wins his first race for Red Bull at Catalunya circuit the 2016 Spanish GP
In 2016 Max moved just before the Spanish GP from Toro Rosso to Red Bull after Daniil Kvyat crashed for the 2nd time that season. His first race for Red Bull turned out into a fairytale. Both Mercedes drivers collided into each other after 3 corners and Max who qualified 4th on the grid could race to the lead.
The final stages of the race he was under severe pressure by Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen. Raikkonen's last win was back in 2013 and didn't score a win since his comeback to Ferrar. The Dutchman showed his outstanding racing skills and was able to stay in front of the faster Ferrari to win his first-ever Grand Prix at the age of 18!
The whole season Verstappen was growing by the minute and made the races a lot more entertaining. Sometimes he was the only driver who passed other drivers and made the show on his own. The very wet and rainy race in Brazil was his best race that season. He made up the teams bad tyres choice by passing 13 cars in the last 13 laps of the race to finish on the podium. He drove completely other racing lines than the other drivers and engraved his name in F1.
Max Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas & Kimi Raikkonen winners Mexico GP F1/2017
In 2017 expectations were high after Verstappens outstanding performance in the last races of 2016. But compared to the Ferrari SF70H and Mercedes W08 the RB13 wasn't quick enough right from the start of the season.
The team did develop their car remarkably well during the season and at the end of the season they even had a quicker car than Ferrari. Verstappen did won 2 races and a total of 4 podiums in 2017, but bad reliability and collisions with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen limited his performance to a 6th place in the 2017 drivers championship just behind his team mate Daniel Ricciardo.
The Dutch driver did sign a new contract in 2017 to stay for another 2 season at Red Bull Racing, while other top teams also would like to have the hugely talented driver. The 2018 RB14 looked to be a lot quicker and reliable right from the start. They have as always the best chassis Their big Achilles heel is the Renault power unit, that didn't have the party mode, power and reliability of the Mercedes power unit.
In 2018, Verstappen started the year with difficulties, both from the car and with some mistakes from himself. However, after his FP3 crash at Monaco, which did not allow him to participate in qualifying, Verstappen improved a lot and finished the year strongly with two victories —at Austria and Mexico— and a total of 11 podiums. Also, the win slipped out of his hands in Brazil after Esteban Ocon, a backmarker, tried to overtake him and collided with his Red Bull, which forced him to lose the race at the hands of Lewis Hamilton.
The current season has been Verstappen's best in Formula 1. He started the campaign with a podium at Australia, which was Honda's —Red Bull's new engine supplier— first since the 2008 British Grand Prix. He continued to have strong outings and achieved another podium in Spain.
Race winner Max Verstappen celebrates on the podium as second-placed Charles Leclerc looks dejected in Austria (2019)
In Austria, he gave Honda their first victory since the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix with a stunning display of overtaking in the closing laps and a battle with Charles Leclerc for the win. He gave another show at Silverstone in the following race, but his day did not have the deserved result after Vettel crashed into his car when battling for a podium spot.
Verstappen won at Germany in a tricky race where mistakes were the easier thing to do, but he kept his calm even after a spin and took his seventh Grand Prix win. At Hungary, Max took the first Pole Position of his career and had a strong performance on Sunday. However, Hamilton overtook him after a good strategy for Mercedes paid off with four laps to go.
In 2019, Verstappen has scored 181 points, which is his best tally for any first half of a campaign. Also, he has five podiums and has finished every race inside the top five, a streak that extends to the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix —21 races—.
On the 1st of September of 2019, his streak failed to continue due to a racing incident with Kimi Raikkonen in the first lap of the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix, he went on to finish eighth at Monza, where he suffered grid penalties for exceeding PU elements.
During the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix, at a circuit that was good for the RB15 characteristics, he started fourth and finished third. In the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix, Verstappen did the two fastest laps of Q3 but ignored a yellow flag at the end of his second run and suffered a three-place grid penalty. At the start of the race, he fought with Lewis Hamilton for third place but both went into the grass and lost places. Then, Verstappen overtook Valtteri Bottas but picked up a puncture after a slight touch and had to pit. After the incidents, he finished sixth in the race.
After three races out of the podium positions, he finished third in the 2019 US Grand Prix at Austin. A couple of weeks later, Verstappen took the second Pole Position of his career at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix and won the race with a great performance. Verstappen fought with Lewis Hamilton for the lead and had to overtake the British champion twice in the race to take his eighth F1 victory.
With second in the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Verstappen rounded his best year in Formula 1 by sealing third place in the WDC with his career-high of 278 points.
Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB16 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on December 11, 2020
On the 7th of January of 2020, Red Bull announced a three-year contract extension which would keep Verstappen with the team until the end of the 2023 season. The news came in as a pressure-release on the team and the driver, as the 2021 market was expected to produce a big shake-up in Formula 1.
Verstappen was solid in the 2020 F1 season, constantly scoring podiums in usually the second-best car of the grid behind the Mercedes. He won the 2020 70t Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone, where tyres were the main issue and the Red Bull was the best car on that aspect. Max Verstappen managed his car well and won the race in front of Lewis Hamilton. It was his ninth F1 victory.
For the rest of the season, Verstappen ran into some bad luck, but he managed to fight for P2 in the World Championship with Valtteri Bottas until the late stages of the year. Still, he finished third in the standings behind the two Mercedes and added his 10th F1 victory to his resume with a dominant drive at the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from Pole Position.
2021 F1 World Champion
The 2021 Formula 1 World Championship saw a year-long battle between Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull's Max Verstappen. The Dutchman won the title in the final race at Abu Dhabi after a late overtake on Hamilton after a late Safety Car period.
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - DECEMBER 12: The race winners trophy is pictured in front of a pitboard for 2021 F1 World Drivers Champion Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing during the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on December 12, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202112120384 // Usage for editorial use only //
In 2021 the Red Bull RB16B was at last competitive, and even better than the Mercedes and Verstappen was able to win seven of GP's in the first part of the season. He even was leading the championship for a while. Lewis Hamilton of course was his main rival. Both talented drivers had a lot of great fights on the track and even collided several times.
The first real collision was at Copse corner when Verstappen started from pole at the British GP and had to defend to not lose the lead to Hamilton. In Copse Hamilton made a mistake and turned in too late and hit Verstappen on the rear-left wheel. Verstappen crashed hard into the barrier and had to go to the hospital to have some checks.
The second coming together that ended the race of both drivers was in Italy, when both drivers had a slow pitstop and Max Verstappen ended up with the Red Bull on top of the Mercedes of Hamilton. The Dutchman received a three-place grid penalty the next race in Russia.
Ultimately, Verstappen won the title in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after a late Safety Car in the final race of the year. It was a controversial ending to the season due to the mishandling of the Safety Car by the race director, but the FIA upheld the decision and the Dutchman was crowned as the World Champion.
IMOLA, ITALY - APRIL 22: (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202204220566 // Usage for editorial use only //
He won 10 races in the 2021 campaign, recorded 10 Pole Positions and reached 18 podiums (a single-season record).
Title contender in 2022
Max Verstappen won two of the first four races in the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship season. The first one was the 21st of his racing career in F1, at the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Then, he won the 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in a wet/dry race for the second consecutive campaign. In the other two races to start the year, Verstappen retired from second place due to mechanical issues, losing valuable points for his championship quest.
Official website: https://www.verstappen.comHelmets
Max Verstappen Helmets
-
- 2022 helmet Max Verstappen
-
- 2020 helmet Max Verstappen
-
- 2019 helmet Max Verstappen
-
- 2018 Max Verstappen helmet
-
- 2017 Max Verstappen helmet
-
- 2016 Max Verstappen helmet
-
- 2015 Max Verstappen helmet
Cars
Max Verstappen F1 Cars
-
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18 during the Barcelona February testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Friday February 25, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Mark Sutton / LAT Images)
-
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B during the Bahrain March testing at Bahrain International Circuit on Friday March 12, 2021
-
- Max Verstappen driving the RB16 on the Hungaroring (2020)
-
- Max Verstappen driving the (33) Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB15 on track during day four of F1 Winter Testing at Circuit de Catalunya on March 01, 2019
-
- Max Verstappen driving the (33) Red Bull RB14 TAG Heuer in Austria at the Red Bull Ring (2018)
-
- Max Verstappen Red Bull RB13 Brazilian GP (2017)
-
- Max Verstappen driving the (33) Red Bull Racing Red Bull-TAG Heuer RB12 TAG Heuer (2016)
-
- Toro Rosso STR11 Ferrari V6 car with Max Verstappen & Carlos Sainz (2016)
-
- Toro Rosso STR10 Renault V6 car with Max Verstappen & Carlos Sainz (2015)
Seasons
Max Verstappen Final Championship Results
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12th | 5th | 6th | 4th | 3th | 3th | 1th | 2th |
Max Verstappen F1 Seasons Summary
| Year | Team | Engine | GP | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Pod | Pole | Laps | FL | Avg Pts | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 |  Red Bull | Honda | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 262 | 2 | 17.00 | 85 |
| 2021 | Red Bull | Honda | 22 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 18 | 10 | 1212 | 6 | 17.98 | 395.5 |
| 2020 | Red Bull | Honda | 17 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 795 | 3 | 12.59 | 214 |
| 2019 | Red Bull | Honda | 21 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 1180 | 3 | 13.24 | 278 |
| 2018 | Red Bull | Renault | 21 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 1127 | 2 | 11.86 | 249 |
| 2017 | Red Bull | Renault | 20 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 818 | 1 | 8.40 | 168 |
| 2016 | Red Bull Toro Rosso | Renault Ferrari | 21 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1176 | 1 | 9.71 | 204 |
| 2015 | Toro Rosso | Renault | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1025 | 0 | 2.58 | 49 |
Races
Max Verstappen F1 GP Race Classifications
| 1th | 23 Times |
| 2th | 25 Times |
| 3th | 15 Times |
| 4th | 14 Times |
| 5th | 12 Times |
| 6th | 5 Times |
| 7th | 2 Times |
| 8th | 6 Times |
| 9th | 5 Times |
| 10th | 3 Times |
| 11th | 2 Times |
| 12th | 1 Time |
| 15th | 2 Times |
| 16th | 1 Time |
| 17th | 1 Time |
| DNF | 29 Times |
Max Verstappen F1 GP Race Results
Podiums
Max Verstappen F1 Podium Finishes
Poles
Max Verstappen F1 Pole Positions
| Year | Race | No | Team | Engine | Grid | Pos | Retired | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 2022 | 2022 Emilia Romagna F1 GP | 1 | Red Bull | Honda | 1 | 1 | 34 | |
| 13 | 2021 | 2021 Abu Dhabi F1 GP | 33 | Red Bull | Honda | 1 | 1 | 26 | |
| 12 | 2021 | 2021 USA F1 GP | 33 | Red Bull | Honda | 1 | 1 | 25 | |
| 11 | 2021 | 2021 Italian F1 GP | 33 | Red Bull | Honda | 1 | DNF | Collision | 2 |
| 10 | 2021 | 2021 Dutch F1 GP | 33 | Red Bull | Honda | 1 | 1 | 25 | |
| 9 | 2021 | 2021 Belgian F1 GP | 33 | Red Bull | Honda | 1 | 1 | 12.5 | |
| 8 | 2021 | 2021 British F1 GP | 33 | Red Bull | Honda | 1 | DNF | Collision | 3 |
| 7 | 2021 | 2021 Austrian F1 GP | 33 | Red Bull | Honda | 1 | 1 | 26 | |
| 6 | 2021 | 2021 Styrian F1 GP | 33 | Red Bull | Honda | 1 | 1 | 25 | |
| 5 | 2021 | 2021 French F1 GP | 33 | Red Bull | Honda | 1 | 1 | 26 | |
| 4 | 2021 | 2021 Bahrain F1 GP | 33 | Red Bull | Honda | 1 | 2 | 18 | |
| 3 | 2020 | 2020 Abu Dhabi F1 GP | 33 | Red Bull | Honda | 1 | 1 | 25 | |
| 2 | 2019 | 2019 Brazilian F1 GP | 33 | Red Bull | Honda | 1 | 1 | 25 | |
| 1 | 2019 | 2019 Hungarian F1 GP | 33 | Red Bull | Honda | 1 | 2 | 19 |
Comparison
Max Verstappen Teammate Comparison
| Year | Team | Team Mate | Best Pos | Points | Wins | Poles | Pos | Quali | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Toro Rosso | Carlos Sainz | 4 | 7 | 49 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 9 |
| 2016 | Red Bull | Daniel Ricciardo | 1 | 1 | 191 | 220 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 11 |
| Daniil Kvyat | 4 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Toro Rosso | Carlos Sainz | 6 | 9 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2017 | Red Bull | Daniel Ricciardo | 1 | 1 | 168 | 200 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 8 |
| 2018 | Red Bull | Daniel Ricciardo | 1 | 1 | 249 | 170 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 5 | 14 | 7 |
| 2019 | Red Bull | Alexander Albon | 1 | 4 | 97 | 76 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| Pierre Gasly | 1 | 4 | 181 | 63 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 11 | 1 | ||
| 2020 | Red Bull | Alexander Albon | 1 | 3 | 214 | 105 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 0 |
| 2021 | Red Bull | Sergio Pérez | 1 | 1 | 395.5 | 190 | 10 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 20 | 2 |
| 2022 | Red Bull | Sergio Pérez | 1 | 2 | 85 | 66 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
News
Latest Max Verstappen News
Verstappen not ruling out leaving Red Bull team
May 16 - Max Verstappen is not ruling out a move from Red Bull - after 2028. Early this year, the 24-year-old reigning world champion signed up with the energy drink-owned team..
Ferrari F1 budget cap claims 'nonsense' according Red Bull
May 16 - Dr Helmut Marko says it's "nonsense" that Red Bull is already blasting through its limited allocation of money for car development in 2022. His denial comes as the total..
Verstappen lost 3kg due to dehydration during hot GP
May 10 - Max Verstappen reportedly lost three kilograms due to dehydration en route to victory in Miami. The Floridian sun and new street circuit made Sunday's race a particularly..
Miami open to F1 track changes for next year
May 10 - Top Miami GP executive Tom Garfinkel is open to making changes to the Formula 1 event for 2023. It comes after a roll-call of drivers criticised the new street layout..
Post-Race Press Conference 2022 Miami F1 GP
DRIVERS: 1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing), 2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) & 3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) TRACK INTERVIEWS (Conducted by Willy T Ribbs) Q: Welcome to..
Max brilliant under pressure in F1 Miami by Peter Windsor
Red Bull's Max Verstappen was holding a relatively comfortable seven-second gap over Ferrari's Charles Leclerc as the inaugural Miami Grand Prix entered its closing phase.Then..
Ferrari hopes Red Bull team blowing upgrade budget to early
May 9 - Ferrari admits it has to up its game - but is hoping Red Bull is blowing its development budget for 2022 too early. "Max was faster, like he was at Imola," Miami pole..
Red Bull Racing Post-Race comments 2022 Miami F1 GP
Max Verstappen said after winning the race from P3: “It feels amazing to win in Miami, the whole atmosphere this weekend has been incredible and to win in the US is always a..
VW CEO credits Netflix for F1 popularity surge
May 6 - It may be controversial, but F1's official Netflix series Drive to Survive will keep its engines revving for now. A deal has been struck for at least two more seasons of..
Read more Max Verstappen News »
Latest Comments