Max Verstappen

Name:	Max Verstappen
Also Known As:	Mad Max, Super Max
Occupation:	Formula 1 Driver
Medium:	Sports, Netflix's Drive To Survive
Works:	3 World Drivers Championships, European Formula 3 Championship (2015)
Official Website(s):	site, [1]
Fan Website(s):
On Fanlore:	Related pages

Max Verstappen is a Dutch Formula 1 Driver. Given the nickname "Mad Max" when he was coming up in Formula 1. He's the youngest driver to ever compete in Formula 1 joining the sport when he was only 17. The FIA even made a rule after Verstappen joined that you needed to be 18 to compete at the F1 level. He signed with Red Bull Racing, joining their then-sister team Toro Rosso (now VCARB) in 2015 before being called up to Red Bull during the middle of the 2016 season, taking Daniil Kvyat's seat. Verstappen would go on to win his debut race with Red Bull during the 2016 Spanish GP.

It was during Max's first few years in Formula 1 when he befriended then-teammate Daniel Ricciardo. Daniel would go on to leave Red Bull in 2018 while Max would stay and would end up signing a contract with the team until 2028, making it the longest contract signed in the sport to date.

Controversies

2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

In 2021, Max would go on to win his first championship. Max and Lewis Hamilton were equal in points in the Drivers’ Championship before the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Max qualified on Pole Position, and had a slow start off the line when the race began, and ended up dropping into second place. Max was trailing after Lewis by over ten seconds until a late safety car was called due to a crash involving (then) Williams driver Nicholas Letifi on lap 53. Max was on fresher tires when Letifi crashed.

And this was where the confusion started. There was a safety car called, and Max went to get fresh tires (softs). Lewis complained about not pitting for fresh tires on team radio while the safety car was out. This was a big advantage for Max, pitting while the safety car was first called out. Red Bull had a clear strategy that they utilizing in that moment.

There were cars that were out of position given the numbers of laps that they had completed, and they wanted to give those cars a chance to unlap themselves.

With two laps left in the race, race control announce that the lapped cars were not allowed to unlap themselves. The safety car came in before lap 57. Then at the start of lap 57, race control made another announcement that the lapped cars could unlap themselves. The only cars that unlapped themselves were in between Lewis and Max. On the last lap of the race, with 3.2 miles left. Max was able to overtake Lewis in turn 5, and finished the race in first.

2024 Season

During the 2024 Formula 1 season Max had a strong start at the beginning of the season but his race pace began to drop off after the Miami Grand Prix with Lando Norris winning that race. It later came out that when Red Bull had stopped development of the RB19 (Red Bull's 2023 car) after Barcelona despite teammate Checo Perez saying there were problems with the car. Max was able to keep winning races in the RB19 despite the problems that Perez had. Max would continue to have issues with the car as the season went on, the RB20 started development after Barcelona of the previous year. During a press conference at the 2024 Singapore GP, Max described his car as "fucked", he received community service for his swearing. He responded by not answering questions during the actually press conference and instead hosting an impromptu media session outside the press conference room in protest, and later suggested that the decision could push him to leave the sport. Later on in the season Ferrari Driver Charles Leclerc would also proceed to swear during a press conference and receive no punishment for doing so.

Events

Max Fest 2024 (Non Reader-insert inclusive)

Recourses

Kat's Max Verstappen Primer by SkeletonGirl89

Top 10 Essential Verstappen races list 2015-2018 by supermaks

Bean's Favorite Max Verstappen Lore by 33max