In 2021, Max Verstappen has emerged as one of the biggest threats to Lewis Hamilton’s record-breaking eighth world championship. In an official sense, Verstappen is classified as a citizen of the Netherlands. However, it is worth mentioning that the 23-year-old is half-Dutch from his father’s side of the family. Meanwhile, his mother hails from a Belgian background, so Max is half Belgian as well.

The Red Bull driver was born in Belgium in the city of Hasselt. However, he has lived in the city of Bree for most of his life. Despite that, he still races under a Dutch license because he ‘feels more Dutch.’ (Translated via Google Translate). Since then, he has had a meteoric rise up the racing ranks before he finally reached Formula One. Before long, the young Dutchman found himself in Red Bull as their golden boy.

Max Verstappen is focusing on the 2021 championship fight

Of course, the Red Bull star is leading the charge against Mercedes rival, Hamilton. At the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Max Verstappen was the only one who made the Briton sweat during the weekend. Late in the race, he even managed to overtake him for the race lead. Admittedly, he ran off the track in the process, but that is a completely different can of worms.

Although Hamilton drew first blood, they know that the season has just begun. So, there is plenty of time for Verstappen to score one over his Mercedes F1 rival. For the moment, the F1 paddock has had a period of respite before the madness resumes at Imola.

For the first time ever, the Imola circuit is hosting the second round of the season, and F1 is heading to Europe early. Admittedly, the Dutch driver has never won there, but he will definitely give it a good try. This year’s Red Bull package is extremely quick, as evidenced in pre-season testing, and they will want to capitalize on it.

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