Tales from the Trip
The Max Verstappen Museum
F1Weekly famila member Louis Jansen is a resident of Didam, a beautiful Dutch town near the German border. In fact, nearby Emmerich is the hometown of Nico Hülkenberg.
The Dutch Support Vehicle made a pit stop at the Max Verstappen museum located in Swalmen, where Jos ‘The Boss’ was born.
Here are some images from our trip which included a very pleasant surprise.
The photo above is the RB12 which made Max the youngest Grand Prix winner in 2016 at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The two front row starting Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, crashed into each other and were stranded in the gravel, opening the door for the first non-Mercedes winner after 10 consecutive victories by the Silver Arrows.
The 18-year-old Max took the lead on Lap 44 and seized the moment. Late in the race Kimi Raikkonen piled on the pressure, but Max got his kicks at the end of Lap 66 as he stepped on the top step of the podium as the first Dutch and youngest ever Grand Prix winner in Formula 1 history.
Less than two years earlier Max was competing in his first year of single seater racing in the European Formula 3 Championship.
Jos has created a winning Monster.
The winning head. This is the helmet from that historic day. It was his debut with the Red Bull team after their #2, Daniil Kvyat, was ‘torpedoed’ and towed back to the B team, Toro Rosso. Thanks to Max speed and talent, the #2 seat at Red Bull now has a revolving door.
P1. Quali in Qatar.
Max’s first pole position came in the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix, making him the first Dutch and 100th different driver to start from the top of the grid. Today, he sits on 36 pole positions, fifth on the all-time list. Since the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix he has amassed 57 Formula 1 victories, third on the all-time list.
He will turn 27 in September. Scary.
From a distance. Since the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, this has been the most common view nineteen drivers have had, though not so close. Last year Max won 19 of 22 races. The 2024 season has 24 races. He just might go one better.
Easy Rider.
Three races in the United States in 2023, one winner. Max is the new Captain America.
These boots are made for winning. And that’s all they’ll do.
Mama V. A chance meeting with Sophie Kumpen, mother of Max. She was an accomplished racer and competed against Giancarlo Fisichella and Jenson Button in karting.
– – Nasir Hameed.