While waiting for the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull’s home race, Max Verstappen has already amassed a remarkable number of victories which, at 27 years old, have secured his place in Formula 1 history. In addition to claiming four world titles — all consecutively — the Dutchman has stood on the top step of the podium 65 times. He also holds the record for being the youngest driver to debut in the sport (as a minor) and to win a race.
The three memorable moments
These achievements, combined with his driving style and determination, have already made him one of the greatest drivers of all time in the eyes of many fans. Ten years after his first season, Max Verstappen was interviewed by FORMULE 1 Magazine, where he spoke not only about F1 history but also described what he considers the three greatest moments of his career so far: “Barcelona 2016, of course. My first Formula 1 win in my first race with Red Bull. My most beautiful memory from that weekend is the podium moment — when I looked down and saw my father and Raymond (Vermeulen, Verstappen’s manager) standing there, and I realized: we did it! That had always been my dream. I also remember not sleeping much the night after the race. I drank a bit too much water. Even I didn’t expect that win. I had just joined the team, and before that there had been criticism about my promotion to Red Bull, with people saying it was all too soon. Right after the race, I was very emotional. I’m not usually the emotional type, but what I felt after that race was very close to crying.”
“The second is Abu Dhabi 2021,” he continued, referring to his first world championship win, “I don’t need to relive that Sunday, because I fear I’d have a heart attack. That whole season was very intense, with a finale decided on the last lap of the last race. It was a season in which two teams pushed each other to the limit. That’s something to be admired and it’s good for the sport. Two teams making very few mistakes over an entire season — it was definitely special and incredible. And if you end up winning it, then it’s even more fun to talk about.”
The third top-3 moment in Max Verstappen’s career was the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix, where he won in a comeback drive from 17th on the grid in wet conditions: “I didn’t enjoy the race while it was happening, because the tension in the championship was extremely high. I couldn’t afford any mistakes. I don’t always rewatch entire races, but I sat down and watched this one closely later at home in Monaco, also because during the race, as a driver, you can’t see everything going on around you.”
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