No matter the sport or technical aspect of it all, a group of people always believe their prayers are bringing an athlete success. There is always an iota of superstition involved. It could be the most talented athlete in the world, but there will always be someone who believes their prayers are the reason. For Max Verstappen, that’s his mother Sophie Kumpen!

These superstitious believes only need one positive reinforcement to grow stronger. Verstappen’s mother Sophie Kumpen has the same belief with her candle lighting before her son’s races. This stared back in 2016 and she has been following this pre-race ritual since.

“I have sort of a, not really a religion, but you burn a candle for something that has to go well. This started with the race in Barcelona in 2016,” she confessed!

Verstappen also spoke about the candle lighting and how his mom communicates it. “Before every race, I receive a picture,” he said. “There she is again with the candle. She always does that in the local church in her neighborhood. At some point, I said, quit sending it to me. It doesn’t matter, anyway.”

Read More: “I Was the Wife of…and Now the Mother of…”: Succumbed to Her Role, Max Verstappen’s Nostalgic Mom Once Looked Back on Her List of Conquests

We all know that is never going to happen. Verstappen’s mother might stop sending him photos. However, nobody can shake a mother’s belief in her methods for her son’s betterment.

After all, Sophie Kumpen was a racing driver as well. Something she put in the past to be there as a mother to Max.

Mother of Max Verstappen makes a heartwarming revelation about her racing career

Sophie Kumpen was a former racer, and she was a good one at that, too. Red Bull’s boss, Christian Horner, will tell you. However, the doting mother put her career on the back foot to support her children.

She confessed that in a documentary about Max Verstappen’s life. “So I’ve raced against [Jarno] Trulli, [Giancarlo] Fisichella, [Jenson] Button… I’ve also raced against Max’s team boss Christian Horner. He recently said “you were faster than me”. But the difference is that those men made it, while I was the wife of…, and now the mother of,” she said.

WATCH THIS STORY: Max Verstappen: ‘Is my title tarnished? Not at all. I really deserved it’

This is where Verstappen gets all his racing powers. The born talent from his parents and the good wishes from his mother’s pre-race rituals.