Max Verstappen has turned 26! That’s right, it’s a momentous day in the life of the 2x champion, as he completes about 1/4th ‘Grand Prix’ distance in human years! But even in such a short span of time, the Dutch lion has amassed countless accolades and records in the arena of motorsports. Naturally, on the eve of his 26th birthday, it only makes sense to pay homage to arguably one of the all-time greats with a quick recap of a glorious career that has seemingly only just begun.

Verstappen has set the benchmark for F1’s modern era. And that is saying something given that Lewis Hamilton has been at the forefront of it till Verstappen truly arrived on the scene with Red Bull. So, from his debut at the unbelievable age of just 17 to his 26th birthday being a precursor to a 3rd consecutive world title, let’s take a look at the illustrious F1 career of Max Verstappen so far.

Skipping F2 to drive for Toro Rosso as F1’s youngest rookie ever

Do the current F1 super license rules irk you? Well, you’ve got Max Verstappen to blame for that! While Verstappen may not have been the youngest-ever F1 world champion, he became the youngest F1 rookie when he was strapped full-time into Toro Rosso‘s STR10 for the 2015 F1 season at a record-crushing age of 17 years and 166 days.

What makes this even more mindboggling is the fact that Verstappen had just completed his first season in Formula 3 back in 2014. Rather than going through the conventional route and into F2, Red Bull gave him a shot at F1 glory directly. This led to a rule change in 2016, which meant drivers had to, amongst other things, be at least 18 years old to qualify for a super license.

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In 2016, Verstappen made another elite jump as he replaced Daniil Kvyat, effective from the 2016 Spanish GP, at the main Red Bull team after just 23 races at the pinnacle of motorsport. Well, he went on to win on his Red Bull debut, and the rest, as they say, is history!

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen became Lewis Hamilton’s biggest challenge

The Bulls were there or thereabouts since Verstappen’s blistering debut with the Milton-Keynes-based outfit. While Verstappen bagged a handful of wins, Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton at the helm were stealing the show. Hamilton won 4 consecutive championships in the interim as Verstappen waited eagerly for his turn.

The 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was the first time the Bulls really showed their championship potential. With a COVID-hit 2020 season that saw Mercedes dominate from start to finish, Verstappen’s finale win was the only blot for the Silver Arrows’ almost flawless season that saw Hamilton crowned, a record-equaling, 7-time F1 world champion. It was 2021, and time for Hamilton to get his hands on that elusive 8th!

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But the Bulls started off the 2021 season exactly where they had left last year: in winning trim. For the first time in years, Lewis Hamilton had a serious championship contender in the form of Verstappen. The Dutch lion made life hell for the Brit. If Hamilton wanted to get that eight, he’d have to go through the indomitable Max Verstappen.

A testament to how hard Verstappen pushed Hamilton that season was the fact that the duo went into the season finale at Abu Dhabi equal on points. It was a drag race to the end!

Max Verstappen’s Consecutive World Championships and the historic 2023 season

On the very last lap of the race, albeit in highly controversial circumstances, Verstappen finally dethroned Lewis Hamilton as he clinched his maiden Formula 1 title. Onto 2022, Hamilton was keen to take revenge, but as Mercedes faltered with the latest regulation overhaul, Red Bull nailed it to a tee.

In 2022, Hamilton miserably languished in the midfield. While Verstappen with his supreme racing talent, stormed to a dominant championship win over a hapless Charles Leclerc and Ferrari. And he wrapped it all up at the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, too. Just like that, he was a 2x champion with consecutive titles.

In 2023, Verstappen was expected to win again. But boy, did he blow the competition out of the water. Barring the Singapore GP, Red Bull has currently won all the races this season. Despite an early onslaught from teammate Sergio Perez, Verstappen has won a whopping 13 races so far with an incredible win percentage of 81.25%! What’s more, 10 of these race wins came in succession making him the 1st driver ever to win 10 Grands Prix in a row, breaking Sebastian Vettel’s decade-long reign on top with 9 consecutive wins.

With the Qatar Grand Prix up next, Verstappen can win his 3rd consecutive title at the Losail International Circuit during the Sprint Race if he finishes 6th or higher. With that, he can become the first F1 driver ever to win a championship during a Sprint event.

WATCH THIS STORY | Max Verstappen and Christian Horner slam Mercedes for trying to ‘take shine off’ F1 title win after Lewis Hamilton drama

Take a bow, Max Verstappen! And a very happy 26th!