Verstappen won 19 of the 22 races on the F1 calendar in 2023, and secured last year’s drivers’ championship in early October after finishing second in the Qatar sprint race.
His achievements over the past three seasons in F1 have thus ensured his place on this year’s Time 100 list, which includes world leaders, writers, entertainers and other global icons across a range of industries.
Verstappen joins a smorgasbord of athletes who have made this year’s list, including Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, rugby star Siya Kolisi – who captained South Africa to its 2023 Rugby World Cup win – and Jenni Hermoso, who won the 2023 Women’s Football World Cup with Spain.
The Dutchman’s entry was penned by Time’s senior sports correspondent Sean Gregory, who writes that “Verstappen is so confident behind the wheel that during at least one race he’s been able to keep an eye on the screens around the track in order to watch the battle going on behind him.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
The Time 100 officially began in 1999, and a selection of members who have graced this year’s list will be invited to a summit on 24 April and a gala on 15 May – although it is unknown if Verstappen will attend either event given his schedule this season.
Further achievements that Verstappen has accrued in his time in F1 include 57 race victories and 36 pole positions, along with his seemingly unbeatable record of becoming F1’s youngest driver at the age of 17, when he made his race debut in 2015 for Toro Rosso.
On joining Red Bull in 2016, Verstappen won his first race for the Milton Keynes outfit at the Spanish Grand Prix, and then sensationally beat Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to the title in a contentious 2021 championship showdown at Abu Dhabi.
Verstappen is not the only F1 driver to appear on the Time 100 list: Hamilton was included in the American magazine’s century of influential individuals in 2020, while seven-time champion Michael Schumacher was part of the 2005 list.
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