Motorsports
Max Clears the Grid
Max Verstappen started last in a field of 101 karts and caught every driver ahead of him by lap 14 in Red Bull’s Max vs 100 event at Silverstone.
The four-time Formula 1 world champion completed the challenge in about 35 minutes on a temporary circuit built for the event. The race was scheduled for 30 laps, but his final pass settled it before the halfway point.
The grid included Red Bull athletes, content creators, journalists and fans from around the world. Most had driven the circuit only during a practice session and one qualifying lap.
Verstappen made rapid progress as the field crowded into the opening corners. More than 10 drivers were behind him before he reached the start-finish line for the first time. A pileup at the hairpin added to the confusion.
“I have no idea what’s going on. It’s carnage,” he said over the radio.
Two minutes into the race, Verstappen was 37th. Under the event’s rules, a driver was eliminated as soon as the rear of Verstappen’s kart drew level with the front of theirs. By the end of the first lap, 63 of his opponents were out.
The leaders had escaped much of the early traffic. Pole-sitter Jacky Martens, YouTuber Zac Alsop and Red Bull Ford Powertrains technician Lewis Osler built a gap of about 12 seconds while Verstappen worked through the field.
They used a permitted shortcut on lap 12, but Verstappen caught them on the following lap. He passed Alsop and Osler in one corner, then overtook Martens to complete the challenge on lap 14.
Martens finished second, with Osler third and Alsop fourth. Off-road motorcyclist Pol Tarrés placed fifth.
Verstappen set the fastest lap at 2 minutes 20.673 seconds. Martens recorded the next quickest time of 2 minutes 23.327 seconds.
“When I went to the grid and I saw where I had to start, with 100 karts in front of me, I was a little bit worried,” Verstappen said. He added that the chase became more enjoyable once he found a rhythm and saw the gap to the leaders shrink.
“It was great to just be back in a go-kart again and go back to basics,” he said.
The event was streamed on Disney+ and the ESPN App. Red Bull said a replay is available on both platforms, with ESPN App access limited to ESPN Unlimited subscribers in the United States.
