Born in Belgium on September 30, 1997, Max Verstappen is the son of Dutch F1 driver Jos Verstappen and Belgian karting champion Sophie Kumpen.

After first driving a kart at four-and-a-half years old, he competed in regional and international karting in his early teens, frequently punching well above his weight against more experienced rivals.

In 2013, days after his 16th birthday, he moved up to single-seaters, racing in the 2014 FIA European Formula 3 Championship for Van Amersfoort Racing. Against top class and more experienced opposition, Verstappen finished his rookie season third in the championship, winning 10 races.

Clearly a hot property, he was announced as a Toro Rosso driver for 2015. He began his career driving in FP1 at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, four days after his 17th birthday. He became F1’s youngest-ever racer when he made his debut at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix, aged 17 years and 166 days. Two weeks later he became F1’s youngest points-scorer with seventh place at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

After spending the entire 2015 season with Toro Rosso, he also started his 2016 campaign with the Italian team, before moving to Red Bull Racing as a replacement for Daniil Kvyat, who took over his seat at Toro Rosso.

Today, the 18-year old won the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix in his debut race for Red Bull Racing, becoming the youngest-ever winner of a Grand Prix and the first racing under the Dutch flag.

Carlos Sainz Jr and Max Verstappen perform on bumper cars in Tibidabo funfair, Barcelona, Spain on the 17 February 2015