Max Verstappen He is only 25 years old and already adjusts his second title of the Formula 1the one he reached by winning the Japanese Grand Prix, crown that he conquers with four races to go before the end of the 2022 contest, which says how great the Dutchman is.
And it is not just another title, it is something much more significant, of a sport that is gaining followers and climbing positions on the scale of fans, hot on the heels of football.
(Luis Díaz ‘on crutches’: maximum alert in Liverpool due to the seriousness of his injury)
(Iker Casillas explodes social networks with irony: ‘I hope they respect me, I’m gay’)
“As popular as Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten”, Max Verstappen is an idol in the Netherlands, where his name is also synonymous with business and generating income.
“Before him, (Formula 1) was the third sport, after football and speed skating. Now it is the second, very close to football, ”explained in 2021 Joe van Burik, a Dutch journalist specializing in motor sports, on the occasion of Verstappen’s first world title.
Erik vanHaren, who covers the queen category of motorsports for the newspaper De Telegraaf, says “he has never seen an athlete in such a popular individual discipline in the country”.
The truth is that 15 Dutch people have taken part in F1 Grands Prix since 1950.
The first to get on the podium was precisely Max’s father, Jos Verstappen, twice in 1994. Neither had won before Max Verstappen achieved it for the first time in 2016. It was in the years of ‘Jos The Boss’ when the The Netherlands fell in love with Formula 1.
“The Verstappen effect 1.0”, smiles Van Burik. “Thanks to my father, the fans began to follow me,” Max estimated in 2019, aware that his surname helped his compatriots to be “automatically interested” in his performances on the circuits.
make a fortune
Since his 2021 title, the 25-year-old has swapped his usual number 33 for the one, which distinguishes the reigning world champion.
his predecessor, Lewis Hamilton, he had chosen to keep the number 44.
“How many times do you have that opportunity? It’s also a good thing for merchandising”, he explained last year, halfway between a joke and a nose for business.
Max Verstap-pen’s salary is estimated by Forbes magazine at around $46 million, without bonuses in 2022. Added to this are lucrative endorsement deals.
In the Netherlands, the Verstap-pen is ubiquitous in advertising. It is seen in those of Jumbo supermarkets, the Ziggo telecommunications group, the clothing brand G-Star RAW, the computer publisher Exact or the used car seller CarNext.com.
“And it begins to overtake the Netherlands,” says Vermeulen. “You can see it becoming a worldwide thing. Seeing how he develops as a pilot and as an athlete, the best is yet to come”, he predicts.
of not believing
“It’s really crazy, I have mixed feelings after this victory,” explained Verstappen, who won in Japan ahead of his teammate, the Mexican. Sergio Perezand from Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) who had crossed the finish line second, but was sanctioned with five seconds for recovering illegally – skipping the last chicane – the place that Checo had taken from him.
“Looking back, it’s been an incredible year. I am very grateful to everyone in the team, they have worked very hard”, commented Verstappen after achieving the thirty-second race since he has raced in F1.
“The amazing work we have done together with Honda and winning the championship twice with them is really emotional, especially here,” said Mad Max at Suzuka, the circuit owned by his team’s rider.
“I am very proud of what we have achieved and that we have also achieved it here”, commented the new sporting idol from the Netherlands after defending the title with four races to go.
He is the youngest driver to score points, aged 17 years, 5 months and 29 months (Malaysia 2015). The youngest to win a Grand Prix (and also to climb a podium and lead a race), at 18 years, 7 months and 15 days (Spain 2016) and the youngest to achieve a best race lap, at 19 , 1 month and 14 days (Brazil 2016). He is the champion for a reason.
(Luis Díaz: see the assistance of the peasant who excites Liverpool vs. Arsenal)
(Cristiano Ronaldo continues to make history: he scored the 700th goal of his career, video)
Sports
#Max #Verstappen #champion #money #maker #video