SOPHIE KUMPEN: The Karting Champion Who Shaped Max Verstappen

November 3, 2026

• SOPHIE KUMPEN began karting at age 11 and rose to international Formula A, Formula K, and Super A competition, racing wheel-to-wheel against future F1 drivers Button, Fisichella, and Trulli.
• In 1995 SOPHIE KUMPEN claimed the prestigious Andrea Margutti Trophy plus Belgian national titles, with Red Bull boss Christian Horner later calling her one of the strongest drivers of her generation.
• SOPHIE stepped back from competition after Max’s 1997 birth; Max has publicly credited his mother’s side of the family for the deeper racing instinct and smooth, consistent style visible in his driving.
• A 2013 comeback attempt in the Formido Swift Cup at Zandvoort ended when SOPHIE suffered a broken vertebra in a crash, closing her competitive career for good.
• Max has said SOPHIE’s sacrifice of her own ambitions was foundational, joking that his arrival effectively ended her driving career while her racing DNA powered four consecutive world titles.

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