(Motorsport-Total.com) – On September 16, Max Verstappen will compete in a kart race organized by Red Bull against 100 competitors. An event for which the streaming provider Disney+ has already secured the broadcasting rights. However, the four-time world champion is not particularly nervous about this unusual challenge.
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He will, in his words before the Spanish Grand Prix, simply “arrive in Silverstone and do his thing.” But the 71-time Grand Prix winner does not have to worry about competition from the Formula 1 paddock.
After all, Verstappen will not be competing against Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Kimi Antonelli, and others on the newly built kart track, but against content creators, influencers, athletes, and more or less well-known racers.
A few days before the event, almost all participants are officially known. But no matter who exactly awaits the four-time world champion in Silverstone: Verstappen remains relaxed and emphasizes that he has not prepared for the race so far.
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“No, I haven’t done anything yet,” he said. “Honestly, I will just show up and have fun. Let’s see how it goes. But yes, there are a lot of people.”
Not only the number of competitors is likely to be a challenge for Verstappen. After all, the Red Bull driver has to start the race from the last place. Verstappen has a total of 30 laps to get to the front of the field.
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Nevertheless, Williams driver Carlos Sainz emphasizes: “I raced a kart race against my team yesterday. I started twentieth because it was a reverse-grid race. And within five laps, I was in P1.”
“So, according to my calculation, it looks like this: If [100 people] start, Max should be in the lead within 20 laps. 15 to 20 laps, who knows. It depends on how much overtaking happens. But he will win it easily.”
Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, worries that some participants could become a problem for Verstappen for a completely different reason: “My only tip would be not to crash with Max. He still has a season to finish.”
Verstappen himself, however, he recommends “to be careful because I don’t know how many professional racers will be there. But 100 drivers on one track is a lot. I think it will definitely be fun.”
“But if they compete against one of the best drivers in the world, then they,” as Leclerc emphasizes, “will certainly have their problems.”
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