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Max Verstappen burst onto the Formula 1 scene as a 17-year-old as test driver for Red Bull’s junior team, Toro Rosso, in 2014.
Son o fex-F1 racer Jos Verstappen, the young Dutchman enjoyed a rapid rise to the sport’s pinnacle.
Through his karting career, there were titles in every year from 2205 until he graduated to car racing in 2014.
He spent just a single season in the junior formulae, finishing third in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship, winning 10 races (including six in a row).
There were outings in the Florida Winter Series in the United States and one-off events including the Macau Grand Prix and Zandvoort Masters, winning the latter.
His Formula 1 debut came during practice for the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, just three days after his 17th birthday, for Toro Rosso. There were further outings in the United States and Brazil before he landed a full-time drive with the Italian team.
A strong rung of results in the latter part of the season highlighted his promise before he was thrust into the senior Red Bull Racing operation alongside Daniel Ricciardo at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.
Verstappen won the race to underscore his prospects as a future superstar.
His development continued over the coming two years as Formula 1 was dominated by Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, finishing sixth in the championship in 2017 and fourth in 2018, winning two races in each campaign.
Following a switch from Renault to Honda power for 2019, Red Bull Racing proved more competitive and Verstappen was the leading non-Mercedes driver, taking five wins across the two seasons as he finished third on both occasions.
In 2021, he engaged with an, at times, bitter championship battle with Hamilton, clinching it in controversial circumstances at the season-finale in Abu Dhabi.
Verstappen benefitted from a late Safety Car, passing Hamilton for the race lead.
New regulations for 2022 saw Red Bull Racing find another level of competitiveness as Verstappen dominated the year, winning 15 of the 22 races that season.
In 2023, he shattered long-established as he and Red Bull Racing crushed the opposition. The team lost only once in 22 events, while Verstappen was beaten on only three occasions.
His rapid rise has marked him out as one of the superstars of modern Formula 1, and worthy of inclusion among the greats throughout its history.
With an insatiable appetite for victory and a no nonsense approach, he is a divisive character, while his domination of the sport have also won him no favours – his victories in many instances becoming forgone conclusions.
He is also an avid sim racer, and has expressed a desire to become more involved with the virtual racing world beyond his own racing caeer.
