By Josh Kruse

Max Verstappen has become one of Formula 1's most talked-about drivers follow🦹ing his meteoric rise in the past𒅌 three years, but how much do you really know about the sport's youngest ever winner?

mahbx.com sat down with Verstappen over the Monaco Grand Prix we💫ekend to talk about his season so far, his life awayಞ from racing, and his way to prank people with ice cream!

mahbx.com
Has the be𝓰ginning of 2017 beꦇen more difficult than expected for you and Red Bull?

Max Verstappen
Well I never really had many expectations when I started, because then when the car is bad or good... it's not like a shock. Unfortunately, it wasn't what many people hoped but that's jusಌt how it is, you h♉ave to make the best of it I guess.

mahbx.com
Do you find yourself overdriving the car at all?

Max Verstappen
Not for the moment. W🎃e always try and extract the best we can out of it, but it's not that you start to overdrive because that won't work. You just have to make the best out of the situa♈tion you're in at the moment.

mahbx.com
What will be a successful year for you?

Max Verstappen
That we close the gap, and th𝔍at we're figꦡhting for victories at the end of the season. At the moment that's still not the case, we have to focus race by race if we can improve on the car.

mahbx.com
Are you able to identify one elem🏅ent of the car that needs improving the most for your driving style?

Max Verstappen
It's not particularly just my driv⭕ing style, we need more grip on the car, as soon as we have more g🐠rip then even if the car drives a bit differently I'll adapt to the situation. I think that's the key.

mahbx.com
Going back a f♏ew years, what was your first memory ൲of motorsport?

Max Verstappen
My first mem🍷ory of motor racing, I think🌺 it was just attending a go kart race. When I was very little my Dad had his own go kart team as well while he was still in F1, so I always joined and riding through the paddock on my bicycle.

mahbx.com
Did you get to race for your Dad's team?

Max Verstappen
No because my Dad stopped when I꧋ started racing🤪. So he sold everything and then started with me.

mahbx.com
How old were yo꧑u when you first jumped in the kart?

Max Verstappen
I was four and a half years old. You're allowed to race from seven years onward🅘s, so I just started having fun driving laps. When you're seven years old it starts🐬 to get a bit more serious.

mahbx.com
You have a close relationship with your Dad, what was it like 🅠growing up? Were you surrounded by racing or did you get to decide what you wanted to do?

Max Verstappen
Well I think the most important thing is that you enjoy it yourself. I think it shouldn't be pushed from your parents, I think that's v𓆏ery important.

mahbx.com
Do you remember your first race?

Max Verstappen
It was actually a very good weekend, I qualified on pole and won both races. I could see my Dad because he was my mechanic, and he was so nervous because it was my first race and the procedures and everything was new to me. At the end of the🐻 day it was a great weekend.

mahbx.com
What track was it?

Max Verstappen
In the north of Holland, it was called Emmen. It's quite a small track. I ran a mini kart for small kidꦛs.

mahbx.com
Who is the fastest Verstappen?

Max Verstappen
Umm, I think I would say me! And my Dad wou𝕴ld say me as well, because he always tried to make me better than him. I'm like a Verstappen 2.0.

mahbx.com
Do you race each other b💫ack home? Does your Mum jump back in the kart?

Max Verstappen
Last year we went for some rental karting, and my Dad and also my Mum joined and my sister joined and some friends of mine. And I have to say, my Dad, he's still very quick! If you take the weight penalty and you balance 👍it out we're actually quite close in lap time.

mahbx.com
So it was like a mini race?

Max Verstappen
Yeah you just race against each other. And my Mum wasn't bad, she stopped when she was like 24 I think, so for a long time she hasn't been really competitive, so ওit was just like a one-off, but we're all like within a second to one and a half seconds.

mahbx.com
When was the turning point where you th൩ought, I can be q💦uite competitive here?

Max Verstappen
Eight or nine. You could see it, national races, out of let's say 70 races I won 68. So there wasn't much competition but you're 🌳always like 'OK well how will it be international?' Luckily when I went international I was still having good results. I think when I was 10 years old in the international world I was like 'OK this looks not too bad!'

mahbx.com
Wh💧at was your first 'treat yourself' present you bought yourself when you became an established racer?

Max Verstappen
A watch maybe? I was about 17.

mahbx.com
What kind of watch?

Max Verstappen
A nice one!

mahbx.com
Mixing schoolwork with racing, how did that go?

Max Verstappen
Difficult. I stopped school when I was 15 and a half, after that it was just difficult to combine, I was two weeks away one week at school, so it was very hard to catch up. But it's a risk, I've had a lot of people in racing that did the same, and eventually it doesn't work out and you need to go👍 back to school and study again, and that was my motivation to try to do well, so I didn't have to go back to school afterwards.

mahbx.com
Did you enjoy school?

Max Verstappen
No.

mahbx.com
What was your best subject, you had to have one?

Max Verstappen
There was no s♊ubject to be honest. Well maybe the sports side of it, some training at school and all the rest. I did like hꦉistory, I was always quite interested and got good grades as well.

mahbx.com
Worst subject?

Max Verstappen
Just generally the Dutch language, just to write it and stuff. And maths, I was OK at it but I just didn't like it, always thinking and how ꧑to solve those problems, not my thing.

mahbx.com
What would you be if you weren't a racing driver?

Max Verstappen
I never really thought about that to be honest! I always wanted to be a racing driver, even if it was not F1 it would be something else.🍸 Or do 𝔉something in racing in general, I never really thought about it to be honest.

mahbx.com
When you're not at a ra⛎ce, 𒆙what do you do to wind down and get away from F1?

Max Verstappen
I play FIFA. It's quite intense, like every day.

mahbx.com
What's your team of choice?

Max Verstappen
Ultimate team. ꦆSo you can select all the players together, who you like.

mahbx.com
Play against friends or online?

Max Verstappen
Online and with friends. We all have good teams so it's quite the rivalry. There's one guy I'm texting to every day, because every week new p🍎layers are coming out, and we're like 'oh we should match those and bring those together', it's really competitive!

mahbx.com
Have you ever tried to spook anyone online by saying 'have a guess who♔ I am?'

Max Verstappen
No I really like it that they don't know who I ꧟am!

mahbx.com
In F⛦3 you rꦅaced against some impressive names, how did you find racing in that season?

Max Verstappen
It was good, we were a bit unfortunate with some retirements I had that season, but at the end of the day we won most races. In your rookie season I think that's v🅺ery good, had a good laugh with the team as well, they were really grꦅeat to work with, especially since you're a bit of an underdog, it's always nice. If you jump into the best car and the best team then everybody says, 'that's pretty normal' that you do this, but when you start with a team before that was driving maybe in the top 15, and you start winning races it's always very nice. I have great memories, it was a great car and I definitely enjoyed it a lot. It helped me a lot to become the driver I am today.

mahbx.com
W🐷hat was the feeling like when you signed with Red Bull, you were obviously quite happy but did you expect it?

Max Verstappen
When I started in F3 I never thought that would 💦be happening after li💛ke six or seven events. It was special I would say at that young age.

mahbx.com
What was the reason behind choosing number 33?

Max Verstappen
Because I wanted 𓄧number 3 but that was already taken by Daniel so, maybe double luck we took 33!

mahbx.com
On your relationship witꦏh Daniel, how does that go? Has he taught you any Aus༺sie 'jargon'?

Max Verstappen
No, I'm not good at that anyway with the accent, I can't do it. He's a great guy and a good laugh. Last week we had an event to promote the event in Austria and at one point we were laughing so much I was almost crying! It was really intense, it's a good relationship. Of course, on the track you try to beat each other I think th🌼at's pretty normal,𝔍 but off track we can be good mates as well, so that's important.

mahbx.com
What circuit would you most like to se🌼e back on the F1 caleܫndar?

Max Verstappen
I heard Turkey was really nice. And then I would say Zandvoo𝔍rt is very special, but it's also to have a proper home Gran🌊d Prix, that would be nice.

mahbx.com
Two easy questions to finish off the ꧟interview. What are your top three emojis that you use ♛on your phone?

Max Verstappen
The cheeky one where it goes likꦛe this (making a smirking face), the laughing one where he's crying, and I think the thumbs up.

mahbx.com
What's the worst joke that you know?

Max Verstappen
Worst joke? That's difficult to get one♒ now,♑ and they're all Dutch anyway so it's hard to relate to an English one. I do like the 'what do you have on your shirt?' And then you like flick their face. Or with an ice-cream, you can be like, 'do you smell this ice-cream?' and then you push it on their face, those kinds of things!

mahbx.com:
Awesome job, thanks very much Max.

Max Verstappen:
No problem, have a great day.