On Wednesday, four-time F1 World Champion Max Verstappen went back to his roots—kart racing. It was all part of a promotional event called Red Bull: Max VS. 100. In the karting challenge at Silverstone, Max Verstappen would start the race behind 100 other racers, and would have a little over an hour to pass everyone.
Max carved through the entire field in roughly 35 minutes, passing more than 60 competitors on the opening lap alone.
Watching the highlights (below) Max’s kart sometimes looks suspiciously quick in a straight line. As is the folks at ESPN and Disney gave Max a stronger engine, afraid their show would be ruined if he lost. Reports had him lapping more than three seconds faster than the remaining competitors.
That alone can create a deceptive effect on the following straight. Suppose Max exits a corner at 57 km/h and somebody else exits at 52 km/h. Both karts might have exactly the same acceleration and top speed, but Max will appear to motor away because he’s carrying that 5 km/h advantage from the instant they straighten the wheel.
And Max was visibly doing exactly that: wider lines, bigger corner radius, less scrub.
Faster kart? Maybe. Faster driver? Absolutely. 🏁