Feature

Going Dutch: Verstappen's fast track to the F1 world title

Prologue: The making of 'Maximum Max'

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The arrival of Max Verstappen in the world of Formula 1 must have been like witnessing a Terminator from the future appear out of thin air, stand up and look around, locate its target, and immediately commence its inexorable march. The quintessential unstoppable force, he would plough into, through and over any obstacle in his path: whether it took two years or twenty, the ultimate acquisition of the world championship was never in doubt from that point on.

Anyone who feels such comments are somehow disparaging should think again. A ruthless steel core has always been a fundamental part of becoming a successful world champion. Some carry it lighter than others, but without it there is no chance of success on the top step of global motorsport. What's different about Max is that he doesn't keep this core concealed within but wears it openly on the outside, a suit of metal armour burnished with a searing psychological intensity that inflicts a devastating impact on anyone who comes face-to-face with him, let alone try and get in his way.

Like us all, Max's character was shaped by his childhood - in his case, as the son of two talented and successful racing drivers. His mother (Jenson Button's karting team mate in 1995) gave up her own career in motorsports to support that of her husband Jos, who had made his F1 debut with Benetton in 1994. By the time Max was born, Jos was coming to the end of a stint at Tyrrell. The growing young boy was soon a fixture in the paddock playing at his father's feet, his eyes locked on exactly the same cars that his dad was driving.

Jos wasn't the typical pushy showbiz dad. Keenly aware of the pressures and dangers of his chosen profession, he took some convincing before he would allow his four-and-a-half-year old son to start competing in junior karting. But once that happened it set off a massive disturbance in the motor racing force and anyone sufficiently attuned will have likely felt the onset of distant seismic shockwaves. Something big was coming.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.