How Verstappen won the ‘biggest race’ of his motorsport career

Just a few days after recording a podium finish in the Spanish Grand Prix, Max Verstappen was at another track and on the hunt for another trophy – the four-time F1 World Champion taking part in Red Bull’s special ‘Max vs 100’ karting event.

Held at Silverstone on Wednesday evening, the challenge was clear: overtake and eliminate 100 competitors – including Red Bull athletes, content creators and more – from the very back of the grid in 30 laps (or 75 minutes).

Red Bull, who have a long track record of stunts across various sports, described it as “the world’s biggest go-kart race”, with the action being broadcast live on Disney+, covered extensively across social media and treated like a headline encounter.

After a couple of practice days for an enthusiastic field of challengers, overseen by Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad, things became serious when Verstappen arrived to get his first taste of a 2.5km track that blended Silverstone’s kart venue and sections of its F1 layout.

Verstappen’s pace – displayed to devastating effect in F1 over the last decade – was obviously never in question, but would the Dutchman have the time, space and dash of fortune required to pull off an ambitious charge from 101st to first?

“It’s a long way! A very long way!” Verstappen smiled during a pre-race interview as he walked from the front to the back of the grid – the size of the challenge appearing to dawn on him moments before the 1800 start.

What followed was box office entertainment.

Verstappen’s P101 to P1 charge

Shuffling forward in his kart to gain momentum as soon as the lights went out, Verstappen had ducked and dived past a gaggle of rivals by Turn 1, where he somehow managed to avoid being taken out in the bottleneck, and then strategically took to the grass to avoid various spinners.

His rapid rise continued through the rest of Sector 1 and Sector 2, until Race Control threw a Full Course Yellow to cover off further incidents.

It felt like Verstappen had managed to pick off 20 or 30 karts amid the drama. At a push, 40 or 50. Yet incredibly, when the timing screens updated, he found himself in 37th position, having made up a whopping 64 places in just one tour.

“Not a bad first lap, then!” Verstappen chimed on the radio when informed about his progress.

After the racing resumed, Verstappen climbed to 25th by Lap 4, 10th by Lap 6, and fifth by Lap 7, the number of karts out on track dropping and dropping until just three others remained: those of F1 journalist Jacky Martens, YouTuber Zac Alsop and Red Bull Ford Powertrains technician Lewis Osler.

The front three, led by polesitter Martens, joked over the radio about how they might work together to form a roadblock when Verstappen arrived, but in reality, there was no stopping the F1 superstar.

After just 35 minutes, and 14 laps, Verstappen had caught and passed them all.

“That was simply lovely,” Verstappen chuckled over the radio once he had eliminated the final kart, adding that “it’s my first win of the year, so I’ll take this one!”

Speaking to select media, including F1.com, afterwards, Verstappen reflected: “I grew up racing a lot in karts, then because of your formula career you don’t really get a lot of time racing them anymore, so it’s always nice to go back and have a go at it.

“I got three or four laps on the track, and that was basically my practice. Before that, it’s always very hard to know what to expect, so it’s also better then not to overthink the situation, and just feel it once you sit in the kart. But I think the most that I’ve been on a track with is like 40 karts, maybe, so a hundred is a lot!”

Verstappen’s fastest lap of the race was 2m 20.673s, with the next best being a 2m 23.327s from Martens, some 2.6s slower.

“I knew my lap times when I did the prep laps, and I knew the Qualifying lap times of the others, so I knew that it was possible [to win], but it also really depended on my first two laps,” said Verstappen. “They went better than expected, so that of course helped a lot.

“Before the race, I said, ‘Let’s be bold and say that I will pass 40 people in Lap 1’, and then they told me [what it was] at the end. It was a good effort. Some people got really excited on the new [extended] part of the track, and there was a bit of a road blockage going on, but I managed to swerve around it, and it worked out well.

“When the lights go out, you kind of just see where the gaps are, and then you also kind of need to trust a few people around you, that they don’t do anything crazy. To be honest, they didn’t. They were very excited with each other, but they were actually quite nice to me! They weren’t crashing into me or whatever.”

“He sees something we don’t see”

Track Designer and Race Director David Terrien was one of many onlookers at Silverstone who could only smile at what unfolded, with Verstappen’s aggressive approach, differing lines and later braking points visible from the outset.

“Going through the traffic of such a big field, no one has done it,” Terrien commented. “There’s never been a karting race with so many karts. So, even Max was questioning himself just before the start, how he could go through the traffic.

“When you look at the replay, he picked the right spots. Every time there was a gap, he went for it. He was on the right side of the track when there was a crash going on the other side. I think that’s what makes the difference with Max – his starts, and his reaction time. He showed his skills in all aspects.

“I was talking to Max’s race engineer and we were looking at the replay of the start. He sees something we don’t see. He sees a gap that’s going to open, and it’s not open yet. So, I think that’s a race vision. That’s something he has that most of the drivers don’t have.”

For Verstappen, as well as that element of competition, having joked about there being “no mercy” whenever his helmet goes on, Wednesday’s event was another Red Bull exercise that he will keep in mind for a long time – having previously driven an F1 car down a mountain and raced caravans with Daniel Ricciardo.

“Sometimes I get reminded of what I actually did in the past, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, did I really do that?’” Verstappen said. “It’s definitely one of the best ones out there. I mean, how many times do you have the opportunity to create something like this? Racing against a hundred other people from other disciplines or sports.

“I think it’s great that with Red Bull, they always come up with some crazy, fun things, and it suits me as well. I think also the way that it was organised today… I know it requires a lot of effort to be able to do something like this, and it’s a lot of fun to be a part of that.”

So, could this become a tradition?

“That’s what I said! I was like, ‘Maybe 200’, and then we’ll see again,” Verstappen responded, before signing off from the press conference and enjoying what will go down as one of his most memorable victories.