Max Verstappen
Three-time world champion Max Verstappen dominates Formula 1 with frightening consistency — and when he's not driving in an actual Grand Prix, there's a very good chance he's sitting in a simulator doing exactly the same thing, just for fun. His life off the track revolves around gaming, sim racing, and his two cats.
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Verstappen is one of the most serious sim racers in the world outside of his actual F1 career. He streams on Twitch under his own name, competes in online endurance races like the iRacing 24 Hours of Le Mans, and has finished on the podium in serious online competitions. He has said that sim racing is how he relaxes after real racing weekends — which says a lot about how wired he is to compete.
Verstappen's two cats, Jimmy and Sassy, are regulars on his and girlfriend Kelly Piquet's social media. Unlike Hamilton's Instagram-famous bulldog, the Verstappen cats maintain a lower profile but appear frequently in home videos. Verstappen has said he finds cats more self-sufficient than dogs, which suits his travel schedule.
Verstappen was born in Hasselt, Belgium, because his Belgian mother Sophie Kumpen lived there, but he holds Dutch nationality through his father Jos Verstappen. He chose to race under the Dutch flag, which contributed to a massive surge in Dutch F1 fandom — the 'Orange Army' that turns circuits orange at every Grand Prix he attends. He does not speak Dutch as his first language; he grew up speaking Flemish Dutch and French.
Max's partner Kelly Piquet is the daughter of three-time world champion Nelson Piquet. She was previously in a relationship with Daniil Kvyat, another F1 driver, with whom she has a daughter, Penelope. This means Verstappen is in a relationship with the daughter of one world champion while himself being a world champion — an F1 family tree that makes for unusual dinner-table conversation.
Jos Verstappen raced in F1 himself (1994–2003) and pushed Max into karting at age four. By Max's own account, his childhood was entirely structured around motorsport — school was secondary. Jos has been a polarising figure in the paddock, known for being fiercely demanding, but Max has consistently credited him with building the mental toughness that makes him almost unshakeable under pressure.
In an era of ultra-disciplined athlete diets, Verstappen stands out for being relatively relaxed about food. He's talked about enjoying fast food and not following the strict dietary regimens that many of his rivals adhere to. His physique and performance suggest he can get away with it — or that natural talent and training compensate handsomely.
Verstappen's dominance triggered a national phenomenon in the Netherlands. The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort was revived specifically due to his success, and tens of thousands of orange-clad Dutch fans now follow the race calendar. Dutch tourism boards and the government have referenced him in economic reports about national identity. Verstappen himself tends to shrug off the hero status with characteristic bluntness.