Max Verstappen was actually Belgian for a long time, but he recently revealed what the details of his nationality are now
If Max Verstappen wins his second World Championship title, possibly as early as the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix, he will do so for the Netherlands. Yet, unbeknownst to many Formula One fans, the 24-year-old is originally Belgian.
“Max only has one passport, and it’s a Belgian one,” his mother Sophie Kumpen, a former racing driver herself, revealed in 2015. Verstappen was 17 at the time and did not yet have a Dutch passport, but he did have a Dutch licence. He was born on 30 September 1997 in Hasselt, Belgium, in Kumpen’s home country.
It has often happened in Formula 1 that racing drivers compete with licences from other nations. Jochen Rindt, for example, was German, but drove with an Austrian licence, and Gerhard Berger is Austrian, but competed in Formula 1 for his adopted country Monaco. The fact that the Austrian anthem was played during his victories was agreed upon with Bernie Ecclestone.
In the meantime, Verstappen is a true Dutchman. When he turned 18, he “immediately” applied for a Dutch passport, he says when asked by ‘Motorsport-Total.com’ and tells: “I appreciate both sides a lot. I was born and raised in Belgium and went to school very close to the border. “
After school, straight over the border …
“But after school I always went straight over to Holland, where we had our workshop with all the go-karts,” Verstappen recalls. “But the Belgian side plays a big role in our family. And I like it that way.”
“Sometimes,” he grins, “the accent of the language is a bit different. We have fun with it. Without wanting to offend anyone, but my mother and father speak very differently. But that’s nice: two different countries that are very close to each other. “
Nevertheless, there is no doubt about his nationality as a Formula 1 driver, Verstappen emphasises: “I have decided to compete under the Dutch flag and also to take on the citizenship. Also because of my father. I have never regretted it. But I also think it’s nice to be half like this and half like that.”
So the Red Bull driver can look forward to six (!) home races in 2023 – generously calculated: Monte Carlo, where he lives, Spielberg and Silverstone, the home Grands Prix of his Red Bull team, Spa in Belgium, Zandvoort in the Netherlands and Suzuka, home to the Japanese engine manufacturer Honda, which supplies Red Bull.