In the mid-1990s 2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button and Max Verstappen’s mother, Sophie Kumpen faced each other in a karting rivalry. Despite having started her racing career a little later than Button, Kumpen did not fail to impress the grid.
Kumpen was an exceptional talent in racing and in 1995 she took a seat next to Button and was soon able to match him on the track. She became one of the top female drivers in motorsport and she even had gotten a racing contract.
But before signing that contract, she had gotten married to Jos Verstappen, and since the duo wanted to be in each other’s contact more, Sophie gave up her career.
Sophie Kumpen was a fantastic driver – Jenson Button
Kumpen has been compared to the top female drivers of her time and her racing records are proof that she was an incredible talent coming from a family not directly related to motorsport.
In 1991, Max’s mom raced in Formula K Karting World Championship and finished 26. In the process, she beat Giancarlo Fisichella.
Speaking in the Beyond the Grid podcast, Button once revealed, “Sophie, Max’s mum, was a fantastic driver. When I was racing in karts in 1995, she was my teammate so I saw her driver. I knew how good she was. It was her and the late Lotta Hellberg those two were just awesome, so fast.”
Christian Horner is full of praise for Kumpen
Similar to Button Horner too raced against Kumpen in the Junior Kart World Championship. Even though it has been years, Horner is full of praise for Max’s mother.
“I raced against Max’s mum in 1989 in the junior kart world championship. In that race, there were some super-talented drivers: Jan Magnussen, Jarno Trulli, Giancarlo Fisichella, and Dario Franchitti. She was top 10 in the world, for sure,” said Horner.
