Chapter Text
2001
Max was beaming, overflowing with excitement, and bouncing on his heels impatiently. He had been begging his parents for months, and finally, they yielded. Max was four years old, and today was the first day he was about to go on track in his own go-kart. His mom was against it, convinced that he was too young for that. Yet, he wanted it so much that even she conceded after days and weeks of begging. Max was so eager, full of hope and excitement. It was impossible to say no to him. He wanted nothing more than to be like his dad – invincible and fast, moving round and round the circuit in the fastest car there is. Max wanted to be a Formula 1 driver, just like Jos Verstappen. He couldn’t imagine anything sweeter or anyone greater than his own dad. He was obsessed with watching his dad on TV. Last month, he promised Max to take him to the race soon. Since then, Max just couldn’t think about anything else.
Except for today. The only thing he could think about was going karting. In. His. Own. Go-kart. His kart was beautiful – tiny and red. For the objective viewer, it was just a tiny Zip Kart, but for Max, it was his first Ferrari. Did he mention that it was the same beautiful shade of red?
The kart arrived a few days ago. Every day before going to sleep, he would sneak to the garage and make sure that it was still there. But today was finally the day to try it out on track. His mom picked him up from his school with Victoria in a stroller. He pushed her all the way home, making car sounds and laughing with his baby sister. When his dad finally arrived, Max watched as he packed the kart in their minivan and said goodbye to Vic and mom. Victoria was wiggling impatiently in his mom’s arms, crying. She wanted to go too, but his dad was clear: today was Max’s Day. It was just him and his dad, and the kart. Let’s not forget the kart.
They drove to the track near their house. Max knew it from his previous visits, but he was never allowed to drive by himself. Sometimes, he would come there with his dad, uncle Michael, Mick, and Gina when they came to visit. He loved those times, even though he could barely communicate with Mick and Gina. They spoke a very weird sort of Dutch.
When they finally got on the track, they spent forever on explanations. His dad attempted to convey the ins and outs of karting, and Max tried to listen to him. He really tried, but his brain was already on the track, speeding and turning.
After his dad’s explanations, he had to listen to the same speech, albeit less detailed, from the employee of the track, with some additional remarks from Jos Verstappen. And then he was finally allowed to get in his kart. He was one of ten karts on the grid that day and notably the youngest driver. When the lights went off, he hit the throttle without hesitation, weaving from left to right and yelping excitedly.
He lapped and lapped. The lack of technique was made up for with enthusiasm. Interestingly, even though he was the youngest and it was his first practice session, he ended up in the mid-field. He was not close to the kids in front, with their refined technique and smooth pace, but he was better than quite a few less experienced kids, mostly driving idly, no strategy yet.
When he finally got out of his kart, he ran straight to his dad with a smile on his face, jumping up and down. Jos was looking at him with a glint in his eyes, something Max couldn’t recognize or place yet. The same glint that would fill him with simultaneous excitement and fear in the future.
The time board on the wall behind them showed that Max’s fastest lap placed him in 5th place. There was no strategy in his drive, but he was the last to hit the brakes, unbothered by the speed and unaware of the risk it could bring. Max was not raised to ever hesitate, and it brought results in this very first race. His reflexes were also pretty impressive. There was a lot of work that needed to be done to his chaotic driving, but he was clearly a karting material.
“We will come back on Monday, and when we do, aim to outrun the kid in the yellow helmet.” were the only words that Jos said to his son before leading him back to their car. Max’s heart swelled with happiness. He was overjoyed and excited for the prospect of returning to the track. He was so excited that he didn’t even notice that his dad never congratulated him on his impressive feat.