Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen will compete with Red Bull in the 2023 F1 World Championship, looking to win a third consecutive title.

Verstappen was crowned a two-time F1 champion after a dominant 2022 campaign, one year on from when he defeated Lewis Hamilton in 2021 to claim his maiden F1 drivers' championship in a dramatic finale at the Yas Marina Circuit. 

Max Verstappen F1 Career (2015 - Present)

At 17 years and 166 days, Verstappen’s race debut in the 2015 Australian Grand Prix made him by far the youngest driver to have ever competed in F1 at almost two years younger than the previous record holder Jaime Alguersuari.

Though his race craft occasionally lacked finesse, Verstappen’s ability to hone his nascent skills on the ultimate stage made him a fascinating litmus test for those who consider promoting him so quickly actually gives him a chance to develop among the best in the sport, rather than potentially adapt at a slower rate through series’ as GP2/F2.

Perhaps unsurprisingly there were incidents, notably him rear-ending Romain Grosjean at high-speed at Monaco, which overshadowed a race in which he shone as one of the few drivers able to complete overtaking manoeuvres around the famously tight street circuit having started last after a qualifying crash.

Scoring his first points on his second outing in Malaysia with a run to seventh, though errors were frequent - not helped by his Toro Rosso lacking reliability - Verstappen hit his stride mid-way through the year and by the end of the season had the measure of fellow rookie team-mate and Red Bull protege Carlos Sainz.

Making a number of Q3 appearances over the year, Verstappen impressed with a run to fourth place in the Hungarian Grand Prix, repeating the feat in the United States. He also won plaudits for unconventional overtakes not seen in F1 for some years, including an FIA award-winning moment during the Belgian Grand Prix when he overtook Felipe Nasr on the outside of the flat but tricky Blanchimont corner. 

Making his big team debut at the Circuit de Catalunya, Verstappen qualified fourth before finding himself in the fight for the lead after the feuding Mercedes’ collided on lap one. When team-mate Daniel Ricciardo lost his chance of victory with an erroneous strategy, the path cleared for Verstappen to take a sensational victory.

Beyond the remarkable circumstances of winning on his Red Bull debut, it made him the youngest driver to win an F1 race (and stand on the podium) at 18 years and 228 days - almost three years younger than the erstwhile record holder, a then 21-year old Sebastian Vettel.

While opportunities to get the better of Mercedes were scant over the course of the year, Verstappen continued to rack up notable results with podiums in Austria, Britain, Germany, Malaysia, Japan and Brazil. 

He came close to a second win in Sepang as he hustled team-mate Ricciardo for a provisional second place finish, before the team intervened in the wake of Lewis Hamilton’s retirement to assure what would be a 1-2 result.

However, it was his performance in Brazil that appeared to assure Verstappen’s legacy when - on a wet track - he pitted for fresh tyres with 16 laps to go. Dropping him to 16th position, the Dutchman’s deft wet weather driving style, most notably his use of outside lines on corners - a trick often used in karting - saw him scythe back up the order to third at the chequered flag. 

The performance was considered akin to Ayrton Senna’s 1993 European Grand Prix showing at Donington Park when he won by more than a minute in wet conditions. 

After only a single podium finish from the opening 14 races, Verstappen’s season took a turn for the better with a  resounding win in the Malaysian Grand Prix, which he followed up with a second in Mexico two races later. Together with a run to second in Japan, he recovered to fifth in the final standings.

However, Verstappen’s rising prominence within the Red Bull hierarchy compared with Daniel Ricciardo was not without its controversial moments, simmering tension that boiled over in an accident between the pair during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix (Round 4).

With the pair becoming frustrated with one another after repeated overtakes cost them time, they eventually collided on the high-speed run to Turn 1 after Ricciardo struck the back of his defending team-mate. 

Putting both out of the race and earning a stern rebuke from team boss Christian Horner, Verstappen - compared with Ricciardo - nonetheless bounced back with seven podiums from the last nine races, including a fourth career win in Mexico.

Earning Verstappen fourth in the final standings, a disillusioned Ricciardo defected to Renault to promote the Dutchman to undisputed No.1 status.

With Mercedes’ dominance showing no signs of slowing down coming into the 2019 F1 season, Verstappen found himself embroiled in the burgeoning ‘best of the rest’ fight alongside the two Ferraris

However, his results were generally perceived to be encouraging given Red Bull had made the decision to end its  long-standing relationship with engine suppliers Renault - which it had held since 2007 - in favour of Honda. The switch was seen as a significant risk for Red Bull given Honda had struggled for both pace and reliability on its return to the sport supplying McLaren between 2015-2017.

Nonetheless, after solid performances in the back of the Toro Rosso in 2018, Red Bull took on the Honda supply from 2019 and - in the hands of Verstappen - was an immediate podium contender. As such, Verstappen’s third place finish in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix was the first rostrum for a Honda-powered team since the 2008 British Grand Prix (Jenson Button).

This was upgraded to a superb first victory together in Red Bull’s backyard at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, marking Honda’s first win in F1 since the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix, again with Button.

More strong results followed with a win at Silverstone and another in Interlagos, which coupled to Ferrari’s form slumping in the closing stages of the year, secured him third in the standings again.

Amid a slew of podium results (nine from the first 13 races), coupled to a second win of the year in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Verstappen ended the season only nine points shy of the runners-up spot in third for a second year running. 

Verstappen took 10 wins, 10 pole positions and 18 podium finishes on his way to his maiden F1 drivers’ championship.

The Dutchman capitalised on Red Bull’s early-season advantage to build up a sizeable lead over Hamilton with a hattrick of wins in France and the two Austria rounds before a combination of misfortune and incidents ensured his lead disappeared. 

Despite Mercedes’ upturn in form in the second half of the season, Verstappen’s consistency and resilience were enough to secure the title in a dramatic showdown in Abu Dhabi.

In 2022, Verstappen stepped it up another level with an astonishing title-winning campaign.

He stormed to his second title with ease, taking 15 victories in 2022 - a record, beating Vettel and Michael Schumacher's 13 in 2013 and 2002 respectively.

Despite not having the quickest car for much of the year, Verstappen showed his class, winning from outside the top 10 at the Belgian Grand Prix.

After dominant runs by Schumacher, Vettel and Hamilton in the 21st century, F1 is now set for its Verstappen era.