After Learning Lesson From Nike, Max Verstappen Beefs With 82 Year Old Lady to Not Earn in His Name

Max Verstappen being the most dominant driver in F1 at the moment, has become a national hero in The Netherlands. However, when a famed Dutch singer wanted to use Verstappen’s name in her latest song as a touching tribute, the 25-year-old asked her not to. This is because Verstappen stopped trusting collaborations involving his name after a recent fiasco involving Nike.

Ria Valik is a Dutch singer, born in Eindhoven, and is one of the most loved celebrities in The Netherlands. According to Loesoe, Valik is not happy with how Verstappen forbade her from using his name. The song she released pays tribute to Zandvoort, a place where she grew up and which is close to her heart.

Even though Valik lives in Breukelen, Netherlands right now, she wanted to pay tribute to the place she grew up in. Because of Zandvoort’s close connection to F1 (the Dutch GP takes place there), she also felt that it would be nice to have Verstappen added to her lyrics. This song, titled “Zandvoort, the formula 1” has been described as sweet, but Verstappen doesn’t want any part in it because of what happened with Nike.

Reason behind Max Verstappen opting out of Ria Valik collaboration

Zandvoort is a sea-side resort in The Netherlands, and Ria Valik wanted to capture its beauty in her song. In it, she wanted to highlight the lovely scenery of the place along with its Formula 1 heritage. Hence, what could be better for her than to have Verstappen’s name involved in the song? His popularity would have led to a lot more people coming across, and potentially liking the song.

Unfortunately for her, Verstappen’s lawyers asked her not to use his name to earn any money. As reported by Loesoe, Valik admits that she loves the Red Bull driver and revealed the part of the lyrics that would have had Verstappen’s name in it.

“Yes, he’s going to patch it! Our Max Verstappen!” the lyrics read. However, this part couldn’t be added to the final cut. Verstappen didn’t forget what happened with Nike earlier this year, which is why he was apprehensive to allow Valik to use his name.

Earlier this year, Nike blocked Verstappen’s ‘Max 1’ clothing line. The American company have their own sneaker which is known as ‘Air Max 1’. Because of its similarities, Nike filed a case which they ended up winning. Since then, Verstappen has been overly cautious about using his name in different places.

When Max Verstappen’s name in a song broke the internet

Today, Max Verstappen is a brand himself, as Ria Valik mentioned in her interview. But back in the day, when he was just a budding generational talent from The Netherlands, local band ‘The Pitstop Boys’ decided to make a whole song in his name. The song, known as ‘Super Max’, broke the internet, with the video getting millions of views on YouTube.

It became a favorite for Verstappen’s fans to sing when they traveled to race weekends. The Orange Army made it their unofficial anthem, and even Verstappen thoroughly loved it. Whenever F1 races in Zandvoort or tracks like Spa and Spielberg, fans start singing this song to voice their support of the two-time F1 world champion.

In an interview, he spoke about how much he enjoyed ‘Super Max’, the video for which was uploaded by Ana on Twitter. ‘Super Max’ also became a favorite among other F1 stars including Verstappen’s best friend on the grid, Lando Norris.