At 27, Max Verstappen, who has sealed a fourth straight world title, is a veteran of 10 Formula One seasons in which he has forced officials and aficionados to seemingly spend as much time consulting rule books as record books.
The close battle this season brought out the fighter in an often under-pressure Verstappen and again drew criticism for his willingness to push the rules in his brushes with rivals.
Verstappen shrugged off condemnation of the way he tried to hold off title rival Lando Norris in the Mexican Grand Prix.
“I think I know what I am doing,” he said. “Some people are just a bit biased, I get it, it’s fine. It’s not my problem at the end of the day.”
Verstappen comes from racing stock. His Dutch father Jos drove in eight Formula One seasons. His mother, Sophie Kumpen, was a Belgian karting champion.
He started karting in 2005 and mopped up titles as he progressed through classes, finishing with a record-setting season in 2013.
Verstappen spent the 2014 season winning races in F3. He joined the Red Bull development squad and drove an official practice session in a Toro Rosso at the Japanese Grand Prix, three days after his 17th birthday.
When he made his race debut in a Toro Rosso in Australia in the 2015 season opener, he became the youngest ever Formula One driver by almost two years.
The governing body of motorsports, the FIA, responded by changing the rules on the Formula driver superlicences. Among other things, they stipulated possession of an actual driving licence.
By the time Verstappen met that condition, after his 18th birthday in September 2015, he had driven 14 Grand Prix.
Pedestrian crossing
He said he almost failed his test for challenging the examiner over the rules as he approached a crossing.
“I argued with him because I thought they weren’t at the crossing,” he said. “They are not here yet, so why should I stop? But then yes, I stopped thankfully to let them pass… I think the examiner was kind to me.”
He followed that with another coming-of-age rite, leaving his father’s home and moving to Monaco, “not for tax reasons,” he stressed.
Verstappen started the 2016 season with Toro Rosso but, after four races, was promoted to Red Bull. He won his big-team debut, the Spanish Grand Prix, to become the youngest ever F1 winner, two years and 210 days younger than Sebastian Vettel in 2008.
Vettel had gone on to become the youngest world champion in 2010, the first of four consecutive world titles with Red Bull.
Verstappen’s youthful promotion was to a team that had been eclipsed by Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton.