Nationality: Belgian/Dutch
Birthday: 30 September 1997
Current team: Red Bull
Previous teams: Toro Rosso
Number: 1 (as defending champion), 33
Strengths: Racecraft, defending, confidence, raw speed
Weaknesses: Frequent crashes with rivals, penalty-prone
Strongest tracks: Mexico, Brazil, Miami, Spain
Weakest tracks: Singapore, Australia
Statistics
Grand Prix wins: 66
Pole Positions: 43
Fastest laps: 34
Podiums: 116
World Championships: 4
F1 teammate record H2H
Total Q record: 168-42
Total R record: 159-53
| Team mate | Q record | R record |
| Tsunoda (2025) | 5-0 | 5-0 |
| Lawson (2025) | 2-0 | 2-0 |
| Perez (2021-24) | 81-8 | 79-11 |
| Albon (2019-20) | 25-0 | 17-9 |
| Gasly (2019) | 11-1 | 11-1 |
| Ricciardo (2016-18) | 33-23 | 33-23 |
| Sainz (2015-16) | 11-10 | 12-9 |
Pre-F1 championship results
3rd in European F3 (2014)
Career analysis
Max Verstappen entered F1 as the youngest driver ever and immediately impressed the world. With several strong performances for Toro Rosso, he was promoted to Red Bull – F1’s third-best team at the time – after just a little over a year.
After winning his first race for Red Bull at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, there was no longer any doubt as to whether this early promotion was deserved or not. He followed that result up by outperforming Daniel Ricciardo over the next three years, leading the Australian to leave Red Bull.
While early teammates Carlos Sainz and Ricciardo performed respectably against Verstappen, every teammate since has struggled. Pierre Gasly was destroyed, and so was Alex Albon (to a slightly lesser degree in races). He then went on to end the career of Sergio Perez by trashing the Mexican over the four championship seasons from 2021 to 2024.
Verstappen began his championship era with an intense, year-long battle with Lewis Hamilton in 2021 that culminated in a controversial win at Abu Dhabi, partly thanks to the decision to let certain cars pass the safety car, putting Verstappen within direct reach of Hamilton on fresher tires. However, Verstappen suffered bad luck earlier that season, so the title remains well-deserved. He also proved that by dominantly winning in 2022 and 2023.
In 2024, he had his first real struggle since the Hamilton duel, as Red Bull lost its status as the fastest car halfway through the season. Verstappen battled Lando Norris for the title, which resulted in several dramatic battles, although Verstappen comfortably secured the crown in the end, mainly due to an inspired performance in the wet weather at Interlagos.
The Dutchman has already established himself as the best current driver on the grid. With a few more seasons of success, he could be in for the conversation of the greatest driver ever.