When a young Max Verstappen dropped a 4-word response to a Dutch reporter's demand

Max Verstappen is a four-time world champion and is the first Dutch driver to win the elusive title. When Verstappen was a karting driver, a Dutch reporter had demanded he become the first world champion from the Netherlands, to which the young, ambitious driver had given a four-word response.

The 27-year-old drives for Red Bull on the F1 grid and is the reigning world champion after he claimed his fourth consecutive title last year with the Austrian giant. Moreover, his performances have led to a change of guard at the top of the standings, which was earlier dominated by the British to the Dutch.

However, this was not the case earlier in the F1 paddock. Before Verstappen, 15 other drivers from the Netherlands had tried their hands at the F1 circus. Despite a rich racing heritage, the nation only had two podiums, which Jos Verstappen had secured in his time in the series.

But Verstappen's son was viewed with a glimmer of hope within the nation to change this statistic. When Max Verstappen was in the junior category, one Dutch reporter had told him how he needed to become the first world champion from the nation, and he replied (via X/@maybezax):

"We're going to try."

On the other hand, Verstappen fulfilled the reporter's demand as he became the first world champion from the European nation and even went on to win three more titles later on.

---

Max Verstappen talks about Red Bull's weakness compared to its rivals

Max Verstappen at the F1 Grand Prix of Miami - Source: Getty

Max Verstappen had won the 2024 drivers' championship, but the title was not as easy to earn as it had been for the past two years. He had to fight a tough battle with Lando Norris, in which he prevailed after some stellar performances.

But the start to the 2025 season has not been so great for the reigning champion. He has trailed the McLaren drivers so far and has not been able to capitalise on Red Bull's one-off pace due to the weaknesses holding him back.

Reflecting on the Miami Grand Prix, the Dutchman revealed how the RB21 is weaker in comparison to its rivals on tire degradation, and said (via Formula 1):

"Yeah, I mean I had nothing to lose so I just tried to have a bit of fun out there as well at the same time."

"But unfortunately [we] just didn’t have the pace. We were overheating a lot on the tyres, so it was just quite a bit of a struggle out there, and then of course we got a bit unlucky with the VSC as well, but that’s racing as well. It has been already their strength for a while, so sometimes on a track where the deg is a bit lower of course you might not see it as much, but on a track like this with thermal degradation it’s of course bigger."

Max Verstappen sits third in the championship standings with a distant 31-point deficit to championship leader, Oscar Piastri.