Max and Victoria hit the track together

Published on 16 December 2014 by Stefan Meens

Max and Jos are not the only Verstappens with racing in their blood. Max’ mother Sophie was a formidable kart racer and now his sister Victoria has caught the racing bug. On Sunday, the 15-year-old hit the track with her older brother at the Genk karting circuit in Belgium. For both, it proved to be a fun and useful day out.

“We’re at Genk to try some things on the new Intrepid karts”, explains Jos to Verstappen.nl. “It’s also good fun for Max to jump into a kart again. Driving a Formula 1 car is awesome but karting remains in his blood. Guys like Vettel, Alonso and Schumacher, they all keep karting, well into their F1 careers. Also, for Victoria it’s a great opportunity to get plenty of track time and to learn from Max.”

Victoria realizes she still has a lot to learn. “I can work on my cornering but I’m definitely improving. And it’s great to drive together with Max. I learn a lot from seeing him drive in front of me, on how to corner and he’s given me some good advice how to brake later. Apart from all that, it was a lot of fun.”

For the 17-year-old Formula 1 rookie, it was a welcome return to karts. The last time he drove one, was over 5 months ago. “From the moment you get in it’s fun and you never really lose the ability to drive these karts”, reveals Max, who helped his sister set up her kart. “She’s doing well but at this stage it’s still a bit difficult for her to ‘feel’ the kart. We’ve tried to change the set-up to get rid of the understeer she experienced and the kart is driving well.”

Max enjoyed helping his sister. “It was good to switch positions. Whenever she was in front, I was able to study her driving and, after I’d overtaken her, she had an opportunity to see where she can improve. Overall, she’s done a great job. But most of all it was a fun an useful day on track and I think we both had a goodtime.”

Besides the brother and sister taking to the track, proud parents Jos and Sophie also jumped into a couple karts for a few laps. Sophie drove her daughter’s machine. “It’s a great feeling behind the wheel, but it wasn’t easy. It’s tougher than I thought so I have a lot of respect for Victoria”, says Sophie after a great family day out.

Have a look at our exclusive photo album to see the Verstappens in action at Genk.