Max vs 100: Verstappen beats 100 karts after 35 minutes, before half race distance
Max Verstappen managed to beat 100 go-kart racers after just 14 laps of a planned 30 lap race, with the Dutchman needing just 35 minutes to beat the enormous field in Silverstone.
Red Bull hosted the 'Max vs 100' race at the Silverstone circuit, using the infield between the Wellington straight and Brooklands corner. Many popular influencers were involved in the event, such as Bella James, Tommo McCluskey, Pieface (Jack McDermott), Romell Henry from TGFBro, Stuntpegg (Nieve Petruzziello) and Supercar Blondie, among others.
The event was streamed live on Disney+, hosted by comedian Mo Gilligan and presenter Nikki Shields. The circuit was just over two minutes long, with Max Verstappen starting from 101st on the grid, at the very back. The challenge, was to see if the Dutchman could overtake 100 karts in 30 laps around the Silverstone kart circuit.
The four-time world champion made an exceptional getaway, using his body weight to move the kart forward, as the Dutchman overtook around 15 karts before the starting line. Verstappen sifted between different karts, from the right hand side of the circuit, then over to the left side as he weaved between the different drivers.
The Dutchman then went on to overtake another 15 karts between the first two corners, cutting across the grass between turns one and two after a stricken kart forced him out wide.
There was a huge pile-up crash at Turn 3, the corner which takes drivers onto the Wellington straight at Silverstone, with Verstappen flying through the order, overtaking another 10 karts before making it onto the Wellington straight.
The Dutchman then ended up overtaking several karts through multiple corners, ending up 37th in the running order after just half a lap, before the Virtual Safety Car was deployed for the incident at Turn 3.
Once the green flag was waved once again, Verstappen flew past multiple cars, with the Dutchman carrying momentum through each corner, making overtakes with impressive dive-bomb manoeuvres. The four-time F1 world champion was also able to read the karts ahead of him, using superior grip around the outside of a corner to drive around some karts.
At the end of the third lap, Verstappen was up into 24th place, and quickly made his way into the Top 20 on lap four. The Dutchman was around three seconds quicker than the leaders per lap, with the average lap times sitting at around 2:18:000 for the frontrunners.
After just five laps, Verstappen was inside the Top 10. With less cars on the circuit, The four-time F1 champion was catching by nearly five seconds every lap. The leading drivers were allowed to take a 'Chucky' lap, also known as a 'joker' lap in championships like Rallycross.
Red Bull calling the joker lap a 'chucky' lap, is a reference to a comment McLaren CEO, Zak Brown, made during Verstappen's 2025 F1 championship campaign, where the Dutchman closed a 104-point deficit in the championship to just two points from September's Italian Grand Prix, to December's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Verstappen was making unexpectedly fast progress, with Red Bull allowing for the other karts ahead of the Dutchman to take another couple of 'Chucky' laps. However, after just six laps, the race immediately switched from a 30-lap race, to a timed race, with 53 minutes remaining on the clock.
On Lap 6, Verstappen made a rare mistake, running onto the grass all by himself. However, with the kart bouncing over the bumps, a weight flew out of his kart, making the Dutchman even faster around the circuit, with less weight holding him back.
One of the corners had become covered in water at the start of the race, with many of the drivers struggling with the lack of grip. However, it was no problem for Verstappen, who elegantly managed to glide across the wet asphalt, overtaking a few karts struggling to find grip.
After just seven laps, the Dutchman was up into the Top 5, with the leading four cars feeling the pressure, making mistakes as they battled for the lead amongst themselves. The leading four cars ahead of Verstappen were then given another 'Chucky' lap, allowing them to cut the track once again, buying them an additional few seconds.
However, despite their best efforts, the karts ahead were unsuccessful in their attempts to hold Verstappen behind, with the Dutchman flying past two karts in one corner, then overtaking the final kart after just 14 laps, with Verstappen holding the inside line to a long right-hander, completing the final move.
During his cooldown lap, Verstappen was speaking to the commentary team, consisting of Alex Jacques and Matt Gallagher. Speaking about his victory, the Dutchman said: "That was simply lovely, wasn't it? My first lap was quite incredible. I wasn't expecting that!"
The Dutchman managed to overtake 64 karts on the opening lap, with many suggesting that the first lap is the most important lap of the race, with so many karts on the track. However, this was evidently not an issue for Verstappen, who dispersed of the karts in extraordinary fashion.
This is not the first time Verstappen has been involved with racing outside of Formula One during the F1 season, with the Dutchman gaining his licence at the Nürburgring just 12 months ago in the NLS series. Verstappen also raced in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring earlier this year.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull's next appearance will be at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the 24th-26th September, where the Dutchman looks to secure his first F1 win of the 2026 season.
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