Max Verstappen, the son for former F1 driver Jos Verstappen and karting Mum, Sophie Kumpen, arrived in F1 when he was just 17 years old, making him Formula 1’s youngest ever competitor. Verstappen began his Formula 1 career with Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2015 and was promoted to the parent team, Red Bull Racing in 2016, replacing Daniil Kvyat after just 4 races into the season. 

The Dutch driver also became F1’s youngest ever race winner at the age of 18 years and 228 days, on his Red Bull Racing debut in Barcelona in 2016. The Dutchman also became the Netherlands’ first World Champion at the age of 24 in 2021, following up with a dominant title defence in 2022 – winning a record of 15 races across the season, surpassing previous record of 13 race victories, held by Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel. Whilst the bar has been set quite high for the next generation’s leading light, it seems with Verstappen that anything is possible.