Four-time Formula 1 (F1) champion Max Verstappen had an interesting side quest, which showed his top-notch driving skills by successfully overtaking 100 drivers in Red Bull’s kart race dubbed Max vs 100.
Red Bull’s Max vs 100 kart race was held at Silverstone. Verstappen started 101st on the grid, and his mission was to get to position one, or P1. That’s a tall order, but not for someone like Verstappen, who is a four-time F1 world champion and a driver who haunted Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton during the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Despite racing with the greats, Verstappen was still human and claimed that he was a bit worried when he lined up on the starting grid.
“When I went to the grid and I saw where I had to start, with 100 karts in front of me, I was a little bit worried,” Verstappen said.
Positioned ahead of him were 100 kart drivers, which included Red Bull athletes, content creators, journalists, among others. Max, being Max, went full send on the opening lap, making his way through the pack, gaining significant places in the field. Over 60 drivers were eliminated or crashed on the very first lap, making it a chaotic start. Verstappen managed to navigate through the pile-ups and remained determined to continue gaining places.
“After my first lap, with all the carnage, I did think, ‘Okay, we have got this under control!’ It started to become really fun, and once I started getting into a rhythm, I was able to overtake them one-by-one and saw the gap closing; that was really exciting,” Verstappen shared.
Verstappen closed the gap at a rate of three seconds per lap, which allowed the F1 champ to get to P1 in just 35 minutes, clearing every single driver on lap 14. Of note, the race is set to 30 laps.
“It was great to just be back in a go-kart again and go back to basics; it reminded me of racing back in the day. It’s a really beautiful track and well designed, and it was a nice touch to be able to get all the data fed through the radio too. I had a great day, and it was good to come out with the win!,” Verstappen added.
Autocar’s Take
Red Bull’s Max vs 100 is a unique kart race that tested Max Verstappen’s competitiveness and willingness to get the job done. He took the openings given to him by other kart racers, and his experience allowed him to dodge all the pile-ups by driving through them and gaining places in the process. The race also showed that Verstappen will always be Verstappen, as he went full send from lights out until he managed to pass everyone and led the race.
