Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen Max Verstappen is a four-time Formula 1 world champion and the defining driver of his generation. In 2026 he remains the focal point at Red Bull, sitting sixth in the standings with one win and 188 points so far.

Early arrival and first win

Born in Hasselt, Belgium, on 30 September 1997 and racing under the Dutch flag, Verstappen arrived in Formula 1 at 17. He debuted in 2015 and, the following spring, was promoted to Red Bull, winning the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix on his first weekend with the senior team. That victory made him the youngest Grand Prix winner in history. By the close of 2016 he was fifth in the championship with a single victory and 204 points.

Establishing himself at the front

In 2017 he won twice and finished sixth overall; in 2018 he added two more wins and climbed to fourth in the table with 249 points. The step to consistent contention came in 2019 and 2020, when he finished third in both championships, taking three and two victories respectively. By the end of 2020, Verstappen had the results and racecraft to match his raw speed.

Titles and records

The breakthrough arrived in 2021, when Verstappen won 10 races and took the championship with 395.5 points. He followed that with an emphatic defence in 2022, claiming 15 victories and 454 points, then raised the ceiling again in 2023: 19 wins and 575 points, the highest single-season totals on record. In 2024 he became a four-time champion, taking nine wins and 437 points.

The runner-up year

After four successive titles, 2025 represented a change of rhythm. Verstappen finished second in the championship with 421 points and eight victories.

2026 so far

The 2026 campaign remains in motion, and the numbers set the frame: sixth in the standings, one win, 188 points. Counting from his first victory in Barcelona to the present, he has amassed 72 Grand Prix wins, built on stretches of supremacy and seasons—2019, 2020 and 2025 among them—when persistence kept him at the sharp end. He has progressed from precocious debutant to the figure who defined the first half of the decade’s competitive story.

Max Verstappen is 29 years old, was born in Hasselt, Belgium and first entered Formula 1 in 2015. The Dutch driver races for Red Bull under number 3.