Max Verstappen is the new power in Formula 1. He may be in his eighth season but he is still only 24 years old – until the end of the month, at least.
He is the reigning world champion and, barring some outrageous misfortune, poised to claim a second title long before the curtain falls on the 2022 season.
Since he made his F1 debut seven years ago, and especially since his astonishing debut win for Red Bull in 2016, Verstappen has inspired passionate fans from his homeland and beyond who follow him around the world, turning grandstands and skies bright orange everywhere they go.
This is a special weekend for them and their man. Verstappen is back in his own backyard, the Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands, returning as champion for the first time. He is keen to repeat his emphatic 2021 win, one of 10 which delivered his long-awaited championship triumph.
On the eve of practice for a race which could see him draw over 100 points clear of his closest rival, and make a second world championship even more of an inevitability, Max Verstappen spoke exclusively to RaceFans about his journey to F1 glory, the family of racers which gave him his start, his goals for the future and the state of the sport he increasingly dominates.
Verstappen arrived at his home race 12 months ago trailing championship leader Lewis Hamilton by three points. To the delight of the home crowd, the Red Bull driver single-handedly saw off a double-pronged attack from Hamilton and his Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas to claim the win and reverse Hamilton’s advantage.
That nip-and-tuck title fight continued until the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. The outcome, tainted by former FIA F1 race director Michael Masi’s violation of the rules, proved bitterly controversial. But it was out of Verstappen’s hands, and he can hardly be expected to act as if there’s an asterisk next to the number one on his car.
Nine months on, 98 points up on his nearest rival, he has already been batting away questions about when he will seal his second title since mid-summer. However he expects a second crown cannot live up to the emotion of his breakthrough success.
“It’s not even necessarily about winning it again,” he says, “I think it’s just that winning your first is always going to be the most emotional one.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
He draws a comparison with his breakthrough race win six years ago,…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RaceFans…