Max Verstappen becomes youngest Formula One victor in history



At 16 years old, where the majority are eagerly obtaining their driver’s license, young racing sensation Max Verstappen has already signed a deal with Red Bull to drive for its sister’s team, Torro Rosso. Now at the tender age of 18 years, 7 months and 16 days old, this Dutch wunderkind has just won his first Formula One race in Spain, becoming the sports’ youngest race winner.

The young Verstappen is the son of former F1 driver, Jos Verstappen and as a teenager, he’s had an impressive record in junior motorsports. That didn’t take long for the Austrian energy drink company to secure his “special” skills. Just this week, the young Dutch, in his second season in F1, was promoted to drive for the main Red Bull Racing team. He replaces Danni Kvyat who was demoted to Verstappen’s former team in this week’s Spanish Grand Prix.

Pic - Travis Chang
Photograph by Travis Chang

The moment the young Dutch crossed the finished line in the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, not only he is officially F1’s youngest winner ever but also the first ever Dutch to win an F1 race. This is also Red Bull Racing’s first F1 victory since 2014.  The win came as a shock following a disastrous outing for the dominating Mercedes team when both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg collided in the first lap. This achievement is no less incredible for Verstappen, who made his debut in a Red Bull F1 car at the Spanish GP.

Our heartfelt congratulations go out to this young lad who not only rewrote the record books in Formula One, but will certainly become a potential World Champion in the near future. Seriously, at that age, what were you doing back then?