Max Verstappen: The Inside Track on a Formula One Star

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THE FIRST AND ONLY BIOGRAPHY OF DUTCH FORMULA ONE WUNDERKIND MAX VERSTAPPEN, NOW DOUBLE WORLD CHAMPION **

Really happy in second place. Q1 and Q2 I was worried to go through so to be on the front row is great. Asked his feelings knowing this was the last time he would have to qualify in this car, Hamilton was unequivocal. “I am definitely happy that it’s nearly over,” he said. “It is inconsistent, up and down, it’s massively out of balance and hard to predict what is going to happen.” The rest of the grid has some way to go to come close to matching Red Bull and it must be hoped they do so but this was a title the team thoroughly deserved. They have not only had a mighty car but have been all but flawless operationally, calling races with precision and setting the benchmark for performance at the top level.

Indeed he may well be the closest threat to Verstappen at this stage of the season. Ferrari were unable to match Red Bull for pace but also suffered a demoralising failure when Charles Leclerc had to retire with an engine problem while in third place. His teammate Carlos Sainz managed to bring his car home in fourth once Alonso had swept past him. I have been struggling to get it together this weekend. Before qualifying, I had not done a lap without a mistake. I did better in qualifying." Struggles for Hamilton and Norris Yet the hard-charging style is part of what makes Verstappen so fascinating. His move on Hamilton through turn one at Imola this year proved it has not been neutered, but refined. “If the gap is there I would definitely go for it, it’s just my style, elbows out basically,” he says. “But if you are in a championship fight you have to think about points every single race. It’s a balance.” Not that Verstappen or Red Bull are taking anything for granted as Verstappen noted here with undertones of ominous intent. “What you have learned throughout the whole year, last year, gives you a much better understanding of the car,” he said. “That naturally makes it better but that doesn’t mean that we are satisfied. We’re never satisfied, you always want to do better.”

Max bol síce zázračným, ale stále ešte dieťaťom, a Jos bol síce jeho otec a otcovia motokárových pretekárov sú známi tvrdým prístupom k svojim zverencom, práve pri ňom však panoval pocit, že neraz takmer prekročil čiaru. „‘Ty retardovaný bastard, hlúpe prasa, nikdy sa ti to nepodarí.‘ Takéto reči,“ spomína Max. „Dobre to vystihuje celé moje pôsobenie v motokárach. Keď sa mi nedarilo, otec bol na mňa vždy veľmi prísny.“ I thought we could fight for pole and we just didn't make the jump every other team seemed to make," Russell said. Norris came close to beating Verstappen at the Brazilian Grand Prix earlier this month, with the pair crossing the line ahead of third-placed Fernando Alonso by almost half a minute. The former is yet to secure his first Grand Prix victory but Express Sport readers believe that he could be the one to challenge Verstappen next year if he keeps improving at his current rate. This positive assessment was matched by the Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner. “The pace was good, the strategy was there, it was the best possible start for us. It was a superb race today, get on the board and get some points early.”He looked drained and exasperated as he spoke and understandably so. He might have said the same thing about it at the very first race of the season.

Sports journalist James Gray seeks to understand the outspoken nature and aggressive driving style that make Verstappen a must-watch before, during and after races, and why his Dutch fans, who turn up to cheer him on in their orange-clad droves, are quite so fanatical. As the son of F1 legend Jos and elite-level kart driver Sophie Kumpen, Max was destined to be a racing driver. And since that headline-grabbing debut, he has continued to make an indelible impression on the sport, courting criticism and plaudits in equal measure. Our car is very peaky. On scrubbed tyres it was a good lap but I was last. On new tyres everything came together." As the start-finish straight thronged with fans, flags and smoke from red flares, still one of the most stirring sights in motor sport, an echoing chorus of “Carlos, Carlos, Carlos,” boomed between the grandstands. Verstappen might have a remarkable record but they were determined to take all the pleasure they could from Ferrari’s man who had fought so hard. I cannot always be super-polite and nice; that’s not how I work,” he explains. “You need to be hard on each other especially in tougher times or when you are not happy with certain things. It works both ways. They tell me, I tell them. You should be able to be criticised and take criticism.”A definitive and intriguing biography of Max Verstappen, Formula 1's superstar, Lewis Hamilton's great rival and the winner of the 2021 and 2022 World Drivers' Championships. Hamilton is not alone in his appraisal of Verstappen. Lando Norris of McLaren, who grew up admiring the Dutchman when he was in karting and has a strong, friendly relationship with him, believes if anything Verstappen’s dominance is only just beginning. One title is done then and the second in the bag. Red Bull and Verstappen leave Japan with their season all but complete, the sport’s dominant force enjoying their spoils but doubtless with one eye already on the future. Verstappen is in his seventh season in F1 having made his debut as its youngest driver, aged 17, in 2015. The slight, awkward teenager that climbed into a Toro Rosso has long departed. He has grown up in public and while his features still betray his youth, his confidence and authority is unmistakable. He is a man aware of the import of being in a title fight with the greatest driver of his generation, yet entirely unintimidated. What was considered arrogance by some in his youth is now calm, self-assurance. Piastri had been the slower McLaren driver all weekend but Norris' error allowed the Australian to sneak ahead for a strong result at the end of an impressive rookie season.

Around here, with the tyres, you have little slides and it can cost you a lot of lap time. That was happening to us in practice but in qualifying it was a bit more connected." Piastri, who was cleared after being under investigation for impeding Alpine's Pierre Gasly, said: "Difficult session. It has been close this weekend. A bit of a messy one. No Hollywood scriptwriter could possibly have envisioned the breathless, adrenaline-pumping climax to the 2021 Formula 1 season. On the very last lap of the final race of an unbelievably arduous and controversial season, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen nervelessly overtook the seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes to clinch the first place that thrust the young prodigy to the narrowest of victories and to his first World Drivers’ title. He followed up by taking the 2022 and 2023 titles as well. Red Bull had struggled all weekend with Verstappen’s car to find the right balance and set-up in practice at Yas Marina. Indeed, after practice three they were seven-tenths off the pace.The race was almost the season in microcosm as Verstappen dominated from pole to flag. Imperturbable, untouchable, unstoppable, he is the terminator yet one still young enough to be adorned with wisps of teenage‑esque facial hair. He has 13 wins from 16 grands prix now and has been the overwhelming contributor to Red Bull seizing their sixth title with a record six meetings to go. With Mercedes bringing an entirely different design philosophy to their car next season the team principal, Toto Wolff, was also blunt in looking forward to bidding farewell to the W14. “I am happy that was the last qualifying of the season and we are going to come with a new car,” he said, with a similarly hang-dog air as Hamilton. Kniha viac približuje Maxa ako človeka, nielen pretekára. Prečo býva neraz agresívnym jazdcom, prečo riskuje. As for the book, I’d have loved to read more from personal interviews with family and friends, even Max, and a lot more than was stated on his F1 career. The 2021 season could have had more coverage, but that’s a personal preference.