Max Verstappen already looks ahead to his kart race at Silverstone. In a new challenge from Red Bull, the Dutch world champion will compete against a hundred opponents. Although the driver does not yet know exactly who he will be up against, he hopes to soon be able to pass most of his opponents: “I mean, it would be quite embarrassing if they are faster than me.”
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Although most Formula 1 drivers have a break this week, Max Verstappen faces another race. The Dutch driver takes on a new challenge from Red Bull at Silverstone: in thirty laps, he must overtake a hundred opponents in karts. Verstappen starts at the back of the grid and will encounter, among others, Red Bull athletes, journalists, and fans in exactly the same karts along the way.
Although Verstappen does not yet know exactly who he is racing against, he already makes a prediction about his chances. “A hundred is a lot, you know, but given how they have laid out the circuit – as far as I have seen – I think it will be fine,” he told ESPN. “But it will definitely get hectic.”
‘It would be embarrassing if they are faster than me’
Does the four-time world champion have a tactic for the kart race? “I think I first need to understand and assess the level of the other drivers,” Verstappen replied. “I also don’t like to think too much about the situation. I just have to go with the flow and try to make the best of it. I hope that, given my background, I will be faster than most. At least I hope so. I mean, it would be quite embarrassing if they are faster than me!”
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What makes it a bit more difficult for Verstappen is that he has not sat in a ‘real kart’ since 2016. “I don’t miss it,” he said about karting. “Also with karting – because I did it from age four to fifteen – you get pain in your ribs when you start again. In that sense, it’s very different. With a kart with a gearbox, you can get muscle cramps in your arms and such, and I just feel that I enjoy driving on a big circuit with a GT car more.”
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