Max Verstappen reveals laid-back approach to 100-driver Silverstone challenge

Four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen has admitted that he has done zero preparation ahead of a 30-lap challenge against 100 go-karters at Silverstone next week.

The Dutchman will be given the challenge of starting at the back of the grid and will attempt to overtake all 100 go-karters in 30 laps of the Silverstone circuit. Included in the list of go-karters are athletes, streamers, content creators, personalities and fans.

While speaking to the media ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, Verstappen explained that he will just “rock up and do my thing”.

“No, I didn’t do anything,” he explained when asked if he has looked up who his competitors would be. “I’ll just rock up and have a good time, to be honest. Let’s see how it goes. But yeah, it’s a lot of people.

“Starting from the back, it’s going to be challenging, but I hope I can catch them all. But we don’t know yet. I don’t even know the format at the moment. So I will just rock up and do my thing.”

The challenge has caught the attention of some of the Red Bull driver’s F1 rivals. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc offered a word of caution ahead of the event.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

“I mean, 100 is a lot,” the Monegasque driver explained in Italy. “Honestly, the only advice I’ll give is maybe not to crash into Max, because he’s got a season to finish, and for Max to be careful, because I don’t know how professional those drivers are.

“But 100 drivers is quite a lot on a track, so I think it will be fun. But obviously, when you’re racing against one of the best drivers in the world, they’ll probably have a tough time.”

Speaking in the press conference in Madrid, Williams’ Carlos Sainz added: “I did a karting race yesterday with my team. Started 20th because we did reverse grid and I was P1 in five laps. So by my calculations, if there are another 20 times five, in 20 laps Max will be P1 for sure. 15-20 laps, or who knows, depends how much overtaking there is. But he will win it easy.”

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