Road to Formula 1

He was born on 30 September 1997 in Hasselt, Belgium, to Formula 1 driver Jos Verstappen and kart racer Sophie Kumpen; he races on a Dutch licence. In 2013, aged 15, he won the European karting championships in the KF and KZ classes, and in September that year at Varennes-sur-Allier in France he became CIK-FIA world champion in the KZ class — Charles Leclerc finished second in that race.

In 2014, his very first season in single-seaters, he raced in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship for Van Amersfoort Racing: he won 10 races and finished the championship third, with the title going to Esteban Ocon. On 18 August 2014 Toro Rosso announced that the newest member of the Red Bull junior programme would take Jean-Éric Vergne’s seat from the 2015 season.

Toro Rosso

He made his World Championship debut for Toro Rosso at the Australian Grand Prix on 15 March 2015, aged 17 years and 166 days — the youngest Grand Prix starter in the championship’s history; he did not finish that race because of an engine failure. He scored his first points in his second race, the Malaysian Grand Prix on 29 March 2015, with seventh place. His best results of the season were fourth places at the Hungarian Grand Prix on 26 July and the United States Grand Prix on 25 October 2015.

At the Belgian Grand Prix on 23 August 2015 he passed Felipe Nasr around the outside at Blanchimont and finished eighth after starting 18th. At the FIA prize-giving on 4 December 2015 he collected three awards at once — Rookie of the Year, Personality of the Year and Action of the Year, for that very overtake.

Red Bull: a first win

After the Russian Grand Prix on 1 May 2016 Red Bull swapped its drivers: Daniil Kvyat went back to Toro Rosso, and Verstappen became Daniel Ricciardo’s team-mate. He won his very first race for the team, the Spanish Grand Prix on 15 May 2016, from fourth on the grid, after both Mercedes collided on the first lap. At 18 years and 228 days he became the youngest Grand Prix winner in the championship’s history.

At the Brazilian Grand Prix on 13 November 2016 he climbed from 16th to third in the rain over the last 14 laps. In 2017 and 2018 he won two races each year: in Malaysia on 1 October 2017, the day after his 20th birthday, twice in a row in Mexico — on 29 October 2017 and 28 October 2018 — and in Austria on 1 July 2018. He took his first pole at the Hungarian Grand Prix on 4 August 2019, and on 17 November 2019 at the Brazilian Grand Prix he won from pole for the first time.

Four titles

He won his first title in 2021 after a battle with Lewis Hamilton: the championship was decided on the last lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 12 December 2021, when, after a restart behind the safety car, he passed Hamilton at Turn 5 and won the race. He sealed his second title by winning the Japanese Grand Prix on 9 October 2022, with four races still to go.

In 2023 he won 19 of the 22 Grands Prix, including 10 in a row — from the Miami Grand Prix on 7 May to the Italian Grand Prix on 3 September — and finished every race; his worst result was fifth in Singapore on 17 September. He started 2024 with seven wins in the first 10 Grands Prix, then went 10 races without a win, and on 3 November 2024 he won the São Paulo Grand Prix after starting 17th following a wet qualifying session and a penalty. He sealed his fourth title in a row with fifth place at the Las Vegas Grand Prix on 23 November 2024.

In 2025 he won eight Grands Prix, including four of the last six — from the United States Grand Prix on 19 October to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 7 December — and finished the season second, two points behind McLaren’s Lando Norris.

2026 season

In 2026 he races for Red Bull with the number 3: his team-mate from the start of the season was Isack Hadjar, and since the Dutch Grand Prix on 23 August 2026 the team’s second car has been driven by Liam Lawson. The championship runs to new technical regulations with new power units and active aerodynamics. He finished the Australian Grand Prix on 8 March 2026 in sixth place after starting 20th.

His first podium of the year was third place at the Canadian Grand Prix on 24 May 2026. He finished second at the Austrian Grand Prix on 28 June, the Hungarian Grand Prix on 26 July and the Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madrid circuit on 13 September 2026, and third at Spa on 19 July and at Monza on 6 September. He failed to reach the finish in Shanghai on 15 March, in Monaco on 7 June, at Silverstone on 5 July and at Zandvoort on 23 August 2026.