Max Verstappen may have it all - but he still can’t escape a ticking-off from his nan.
With an estimated net worth of £50m, a growing property portfolio, multi-million dollar contract with Red Bull and a second F1 title in the offing, the 25-year-old is living his best life. But if the champ-in-waiting believes he can get away with questioning his grandmother’s driving skills, he can think again.
Verstappen is sharing his wealth, jetting his mum Sophie, dad Jos, auntie Gerda and nan Marianne to Japan in the hope of seeing him land another world crown. In fact, Marianne was flown to Singapore in his private jet so she could be with him on the morning of his 25th birthday.
The 72-year-old is no stranger to the F1 scene. She was present in Brazil, back in 1994, when Verstappen’s dad, Jos, made his debut in the sport.
She said: “I’ve enjoyed a lot of great races and weekends in Formula One over the years. But what Max is doing for us is so special. “He has such a busy life but wants us to be there in the final stages of him winning the world title. It’s incredibly special to enjoy it as a family.
“He’s always been a family boy. “And he’s not changed one bit. I used to look after him a lot. Both he and his sister Victoria were always staying over at my house. He was and still is, a bit of a joker. He loves having a laugh with people.”
However, there was one episode that the matriarch was not too happy with. Two years ago, at Silverstone, he came on the team radio and voiced his disapproval with the car’s performance.
Speaking to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, Verstappen said: ‘I have the pace of an old grandma.’ Marianne adds: “He was wrong there - I had to tell him - I don’t drive like an old granny at all.’
The highlight for the family came 12 months ago. And the finale in the Middle East is still fresh in the minds of his family. His grandmother said: “Those races last year were breath-taking and emotional.
“That last race at Abu Dhabi was something different. When I talk about it now, I immediately get tears in my eyes again. I’d given up on him winning it. But then the safety car came out. Our family knew then that he had his chance to win it.”
His aunt, Gerda, added: “We knew what was going to happen. Max was on new tyres, we were all crying. Even now, I keep watching the re-runs from that race. It still brings me to tears and brings us out in goosebumps.”
As Verstappen prepares to hoover up his second successive F1 title, his technical director believes that he is maturing on the track. The Dutch ace has always been quick but Red Bull’s Pierre Wache, thinks he is now taking better decisions during the heat of battle.
He said: “We’ve managed to improve the car this season. We’ve learnt more about the set-up. We’ve managed to make the car lighter, too. It’s 14kgs lighter since the start of the season. And the great thing about Max is that he is able to tell you in one or two sentences where the problem is in the car. That helps the engineers massively.
“He has the technical knowledge that many drivers don’t have. Most drivers say things like: ‘I need a bit more of everything, front and back’. We can’t deal with that. Max is very much focused on one aspect and that’s what needs to be improved.’’
“He’s become really grown up and that makes him even better. When he sees he can’t win a race, he will not take enormous risks, he will get the points he can.’’
