Crazy fan interactions are common in Formula 1 and one of those involves a long-time F1 fan randomly landing on Max Verstappen’s doorstep. What followed between the two is beyond ludicrous, as Verstappen had to go to the extent of offering the fan a free Grand Prix pass to prove his identity.
The interaction came to light when the fan shared the story on Instagram. As it made its way to r/formula1 on Reddit, it became one of the most upvoted posts (25k upvotes) on the subreddit.
To prove his love for the sport, the fan started by revealing how he attended four to five races each year. Knowing how expensive the tickets were, he took up a second job in the evening to fund his hobby. This job required him to work at other peoples’ houses. One fine evening, he had to go to a house which was situated in a posh neighborhood in London.
Upon reaching this house, he met a lady who greeted him at the front door. In the distance, he could see a teenager lounging on a couch, watching Netflix.
The appearance of the kid kept nagging him throughout his conversation with the lady. Two minutes in, he decided to confront the teenager and asked him, “I know you are a kid but has anyone told you that you look like Max Verstappen?”
This made the kid jump up and exclaim, “It’s me! I’m Max Verstappen.” As the fan refused to believe him, the kid took out his phone to show all his official social media accounts and pictures with his F1 team.
Finally, when Verstappen gave up on proving his identity, he Facetimed with the fan’s family and friends and even offered him free passes for the next Grand Prix. One would question the authenticity of the story as the sequence of events is hard to believe.
However, the final slide of the post clears all doubts. That is because the slide shows a photo of Verstappen with the fan who narrated the story.
The ever-soaring popularity of Verstappen
By looking at Verstappen’s appearance in the photo, one can clearly see how young he was back then. Since then, he has won three world championships and is on the path to bagging another, and could top it up with a fifth before the advent of the new era of regulations.
His dominance on the track has garnered him massive popularity with an ever-growing fanbase. Verstappen currently boasts 12.5 million followers on Instagram and 3.7 million on X.
Owing to this popularity, he is arguably the hottest property on the F1 grid when it comes to sponsorships and endorsements. Popular beer-making brand Heineken gauged this popularity to sign a deal with Red Bull.
The path to that wasn’t easy, though. After learning about a rival brand approaching Red Bull, Heineken fast-tracked their negotiations with Verstappen.
The company’s CCO later admitted that they had to alter their policy to land the Dutchman as an ambassador. Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen later confirmed the sequence of events leading up to the signing of the deal.
Since then, the reigning F1 champion has appeared in several commercials for Heineken. Among those was an endorsement alongside Liverpool FC’s Virgil van Dijk on International Beer Day.
