Today marks exactly ten years since Max Verstappen claimed his very first Grand Prix victory. The young driver immediately made history: at 18 years and 228 days old, he became the youngest Grand Prix winner ever. After this victory at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, he grew into one of the big names in Formula 1, now with four world titles and 71 wins to his name. Once again, we look back on that day in Spain ten years ago.
Max Verstappen sat next to Daniil Kvyat in the press conference three days before the Spanish race in 2016. The Dutchman had taken over Kvyat’s seat at Red Bull after the race in Sochi, who in turn was demoted to sister team Toro Rosso (Photo: Red Bull)Verstappen drives his first laps in the RB12 during free practice, before securing fourth place on the grid in qualifying on Saturday. The Dutchman starts behind both Mercedes drivers – Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg – and then-teammate Daniel Ricciardo (Photo: Red Bull).Helmut Marko stops by the garage to visit Verstappen during his debut for Red Bull. It was the Austrian advisor who early on saw the talent in the young driver and brought him to the Austrian racing team (Photo: Red Bull). Soon after the start of the Spanish race, things go wrong at Mercedes. Hamilton and Rosberg immediately fight fiercely for the lead, causing them to come together and go off track. The crash of both Mercedes drivers ultimately creates a unique opportunity for Verstappen (Photo: Red Bull). Teammate Daniel Ricciardo inherits the lead in the race, but falls back due to a different tire strategy. Verstappen’s two-stop strategy, on the other hand, works out favorably (Photo: Red Bull). Max Verstappen thus wins – at 18 years old and after calmly holding off Kimi Räikkönen for many laps – his first Grand Prix (Photo: Getty Images)Verstappen’s very first victory is secured! In the ten years that followed, seventy more wins – and now four world titles – would follow (Photo: Red Bull). Of course, father Jos Verstappen was also present that day at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (Photo: Red Bull). Max Verstappen with his very first Formula 1 trophy in Spain (Photo: Red Bull)
