2009 F1 Champion Recalls ‘Unbeatable’ Max Verstappen’s Mom in Karting

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.

About the author

Samriddhi Jaiswal

Samriddhi Jaiswal is an F1 editor and writer at The SportsRush. She started her career as a business journalist but soon found her calling in lights out here we go! Samriddhi has been a Ferrari fan even when her interaction with F1 was occasional. Her first real experience with the thrilling sport came when Charles Leclerc clinched his iconic victory in Spa and Monza and painted the track red. Now, a Tifosi, Samriddhi is a hardcore fan of the prancing horse and can relate to the chaos within the Italian camp and also admires Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. Off the track, she finds her home in books and musical instruments.

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