Max Verstappen’s Mother Sophie Kumpen on Racing Horner: “He Always Drove Behind”

Christian Horner (GBR), Red Bull Racing, Sporting Director and Sophie Kumpe, mother of Max Verstappen (NED) Red Bull Racing

Racing runs in the Verstappen blood, and Max Verstappen isn’t the only driver in the family to be dubbed a seriously fast prospect. As it turns out, his mother, Sophie Kumpen, was used to turning quite a few heads with performances in go-karting. She’s known to have gone wheel-to-wheel with the likes of Jenson Button and also used to compete with the #1 driver’s current team boss Christian Horner.

During the 2024 Qatar GP weekend, Kumpen was in attendance to cheer on her four-time world champion son. That’s when she revealed how it was to compete against Horner. She told Sky Sports Germany, “He always drove behind!”

The duo’s karting career crossed paths in 1989 during the Junior Karting World Championship. Horner then went on to win the Formula Renault scholarship and jumped into single-seaters. That stint was short and he dove his feet into the world of race team management.

Kumpen, on the other hand, was a name on the up. Former F1 team boss Eddie Jordan and former Red Bull driver David Coulthard have both remarked in the past that she was worthy of having a seat in Formula 1.

But that wasn’t to be. Kumpen married Jos Verstappen in 1996. It was the same year that she decided to quit racing altogether to give her family and children the time they deserved. Max was born just a year later.

Kumpen did try to re-ignite her racing career when she raced in the Formido Swift Cup, though. That said, a serious accident at the Circuit Zandvoort left her with a broken vertebrae — spelling an end to her racing career for good.

Post Edited By: Vidit Dhawan
Christian Horner Max Verstappen Red Bull Sophie Kumpen

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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