Soon to be 25, 2021 Formula One World Champion Max Verstappen has a bright future ahead of him. Fiery and daring, he is possessed by an unusual will to win. It was sports journalist Daniel Ortelli who researched the young racing driver in order to co-write with Thomas Woloch a new biography.
Max Verstappen has everything a real star needs. With more than nine million followers on Instagram, his great looks and his many sponsors, the Dutch pilot who has become an icon of the international jet set likes to attract attention. Like a magnet he moves the crowds at every event like he was born for the role, no wonder he’s been dubbed the new king of F1.
Daniel Ortelli
He also won the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal at the wheel of his Red Bull last June, the first win of his career at the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit. He is also the favorite to win the World Grand Prix in November 2022, which would be his second consecutive Formula 1 championship.
Despite this, Daniel Ortelli, who has written his book in 83 micro-chapters of two to four pages each covering different topics, thinks the young champion is a humble fellow.
“He’s a hard worker, but he can also be discreet and very cool at the same time,” reveals the author and journalist who has followed Max Verstappen’s career.
Anything to win
Everything started very early for Max. His father Jos Verstappen, who comes from a racing family, also competed in 107 F1 Grands Prix. His mother, Sophie-Marie Kumpen, was also immersed in the world of auto racing, a former high-level kart driver, she has several prestigious victories to her credit.
From the age of 16 she competed and even met great F1 champions.
With such a legacy, should we be surprised that his father introduced Max to karting when he was just 4 years old?
But not everything was served to him on a silver platter. In this very intimate book we discover beginnings marked by setbacks, weaknesses and doubts.
However, under the wing of dad, Max Verstappen becomes the king of karting at the age of 10. Then, after several years of hard work, at the age of 17, Max becomes the youngest F1 driver at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix.
Reading this very well documented biography it is easy to understand that originally from Belgium Max Verstappen is willing to do anything to win. Above all, he had a good master.
“His father put him under a lot of pressure all the time,” explains Daniel Ortelli. They are work monsters.
As a teenager his idol was Lewis Hamilton, his current rival whom he is about to dethrone.
His qualities have undoubtedly helped him get to where he is, as he has shown patience and extreme perseverance in many ways. And he is as determined as he is fiery.
“In addition, you always want to give the maximum, even if it’s a bit limited, has no taboos, is not always politically correct, tries everything to achieve your goals and believes in them to the end,” emphasizes Daniel Ortelli.
Full of talent and great qualities, “it was he who encouraged his team to always make the right decisions. He’s also as demanding of himself as he is of Red Bull Racing, never making excuses.
Efforts that pay off
His efforts will pay off. In March 2022, Max Verstappen’s contract with Red Bull Racing will be increased from 20 to 50 million euros (from 26 to 66 M$) annual salary and extended until 2028. Added to this are his personal sponsorship contracts.
Obviously his lifestyle is accordingly. Between his large apartment in Monaco with sea views, his penthouse in Amsterdam that he offered his sister, and his private jet, a Dassault Falcon 900EX, he paid almost 10 million euros ($13 million) and the numbers didn’t stop there. But with a personal fortune of 37.5 million euros ($24 million) according to Forbes magazine, things are put into perspective.
One thing is for sure, the F1 Champion has a tremendous amount of self-confidence, a prerequisite in his profession.
“He accepts everything, including his mistakes, which makes him more and more likeable over time,” says the author.
Finally, Max Verstappen has all the spirit of a winner. Second or third place is not for him, he is fighting to be on top of the podium he says.
♦ Daniel Ortelli is a sports journalist and has long covered Formula 1 for the AFP news agency.
♦ He has written several books, including biographies, Lewis Hamilton, The Way of the Championpublished in 2021.
♦ Thomas Woloch is a trained journalist and a graduate of Laval University. He was AFP’s special correspondent for the Formula 1 Grand Prix.