Suzuka (Japan) (AFP) – Born for racing, from pilot parents, the Dutchman Max Verstappen pursues his destiny with a second world title in a row, at 25, ready to continue to mark the history of Formula 1.
Few people doubted it, but Verstappen proved it in an indisputable way: after an epic duel won in 2021 against Lewis Hamilton, he did it again, this time outrageously dominating 2022 to enter the closed club of at least 17 titled drivers. twice.
As he says, ” you can’t compare eras “. There is therefore no need to confront him with other multi-crowners, randomly Fernando Alonso (two coronations), Ayrton Senna (three), Alain Prost (four), Juan Manuel Fangio (five) or Michael Schumacher and Hamilton (record winners with seven securities).
Verstappen has his own story, albeit in line with parental trajectories.
« The whole family was just racing, so I think who Max is and what he does is a natural result of that. “, summed up last year his manager Raymond Vermeulen for AFP.
His Dutch father Jos Verstappen ran 107 F1 Grands Prix between 1994 and 2003, for two podiums. His Belgian mother Sophie Kumpen was a karting champion, teammate of F1 world champion Jenson Button, described by him as ” fantastic pilot ».
” Ahead of its time “
« It was clear that I was also going to pilot “, explained the young Max to AFP in 2015. “ My parents are divorced but when I come home we still talk about racing. We really are a family of pilots ».
Child of the paddock, born in Belgium in Hasselt, September 30, 1997, he was lulled by the roar of the engines of the time and moved into a kart from the age of four.
« Always ahead of its time “, according to his manager, Verstappen multiplies the marks of precocity and becomes the youngest driver in F1 in 2015, at 17 years old.
Successful bet: with Toro Rosso, he became the youngest to score points, a few days later. Then the youngest winner, in Spain in 2016, at 18, for his first with Red Bull.
Admittedly, Verstappen did not become the youngest champion, last year at 24, pointing behind Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso.
But no matter, Verstappen finally marries his destiny. And no matter the chaos of the controversial Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi in 2021, its unchallenged domination in 2022 sets the record straight.
For a long time, he was content with stunts at the wheel of an inferior single-seater. So since the bull team gave him a winning machine, he has made up for it: in two years, he has won 22 Grands Prix, bringing his total to 32.
Even if he claims not to see himself in F1 after 40 years, he has plenty of time, by then, to become the most successful driver in history. Linked until 2028 with Red Bull, a very rare confidence in F1, there is total osmosis between the best driver and the best team of the moment, the one that has always supported him.
« You witness a driver who becomes one with the car, who is in full state of grace “Commented the boss of the team, Christian Horner, after the Belgian GP, won starting 14th.
« The fact of starting the season as world champion (…), it took the pressure off his shoulders, but his motivation and his thirst for success remain intact “Explained this same Horner to AFP in early 2022.
Cold blood
As a surly teenager, the impetuous Max learned to control his temper. If he still has outbursts of anger, if for example his team is wrong, he is most of the time a cold-blooded monster with extremely rare pilot errors.
Far from the one who clung unnecessarily with Esteban Ocon in Brazil in 2018, before jostling the Frenchman after the arrival, or who threatened to ” give a headbutt if the media continued to question him about his mistakes, in Canada the same year.
Discreet about his personal life, Verstappen ensures that being titled does not “change” his existence. He does not spread on social networks: some jogging in Monaco, where he lives, photos with his girlfriend Kelly Piquet, the daughter of the triple Brazilian world champion Nelson Piquet, or even with stars, like his friend DJ Martin Garrix.
Sometimes far from political correctness, the Batavian does not show himself committed to the defense of a cause, like his colleagues Lewis Hamilton against racism, or Sebastian Vettel for ecology.
« I’m just a normal guy “, he repeats at length of interviews. A normal guy who, however, drives at 350 km/h and travels around the world in a private jet in his colors.