(Motorsport-Total.com) – Four-time world champion Max Verstappen is entering driver management: His first client is 15-year-old Belgian Dries van Langendonck – a McLaren junior driver. Verstappen aims to bring him to Formula 1 in the medium term.
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Van Langendonck won the Junior Kart World Championship in 2023 and has been racing in British Formula 4 since 2025. He started on pole position at his very first race weekend and also immediately won a race. With four wins from 15 races so far, he leads this year’s overall standings by a clear margin.
This rapid rise impresses Verstappen. He said: “I am impressed by the enormous progress Dries has made throughout his career and by the talent he has shown both in karting and in his first steps in formula racing.”
What finally convinced Verstappen: the direct meeting with van Langendonck and his family. “Now I am sure that he has all the prerequisites to become a great racing driver. That is why my management team and I will help Dries achieve his big goal, Formula 1.”
How van Langendonck benefits from Verstappen
Van Langendonck will benefit not only from Verstappen’s personal advice but also from the simulator infrastructure that Verstappen has built for his company. Van Langendonck himself calls it an “important milestone” in his career.
He said: “Being able to learn from such an experienced driver as Max and at the same time receive support from his professional management team as well as from McLaren is simply great. I am very grateful for that. I will give everything to get the maximum out of my performance and continue doing what I love most: racing.”
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Verstappen and McLaren: There was something …
The reference to McLaren is no coincidence: Van Langendonck has been part of the Formula 1 team’s junior squad since 2024 – and will probably continue to belong to the McLaren junior program, even though Red Bull driver Verstappen now acts as his manager.
This development is also interesting against the background that Verstappen and McLaren recently held at least informal talks about a possible collaboration in Formula 1. However, McLaren boss Zak Brown ruled out a move by Verstappen from Red Bull to McLaren – as did Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff a few days earlier.
Verstappen is not the only Formula 1 driver actively involved in nurturing young talent: Fernando Alonso also acts as a manager – and has already brought a young driver, Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto, into motorsport’s “king class.” Verstappen himself is managed by Raymond Vermeulen.
And although Verstappen competes under a Dutch license in Formula 1, he has – like his new client van Langendonck – Belgian roots: Verstappen’s mother Sophie Kumpen, herself a successful kart driver, is Belgian.
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