What we learned at Red Bull and Verstappen's wild kart race
There was just one question on everyone's lips at Silverstone on Wednesday evening: could Max Verstappen beat 100 karters when starting from the very back of the grid?
The answer, emphatically, was yes.
Max vs 100 was the latest in a long-line of incredible marketing stunts from Red Bull, bringing together athletes, creators and journalists to take on the four-time Formula 1 world champion. The catch? He'd be starting from 101st and would be tasked with picking off every single one of them around the extended karting track at Silverstone.
Opinions were mixed on whether he'd be able to do it, with Arvid Lindblad having put the two halves of the grid through their paces the day before. He'd had less time to do it in, but was beaten in the first race, leading people to question whether Verstappen - with twice as many competitors and plenty of opportunities for pile-ups and chaos - would get it done in time.
That line of questioning was rendered redundant when he passed 60-plus people on the opening lap, and went on to win the race in just 14 of the planned 30 laps, even with a slight excursion that might have raised some track-limits eyebrows in an actual F1 race.
Impressive as that was, what was really astonishing was how many moving parts were constantly at play during the lead-up and race day itself.
The 100 karters were made up of some who had never even sat in one before alongside drivers with some serious experience and speed. They were given proper training and acclimatisation time and, even if some of them were "bounced past" before they had even taken the first corner, they were all brought up to speed remarkably quickly to a safe and competent level.
Red Bull really made the most of the event, and it was clear from his post-race press conference that Verstappen had genuinely enjoyed himself. Karting is the purest form of racing and no matter how much F1 experience a driver has, you can tell they all enjoy returning to it. It was never 'gimmicky' even though there were 'gimmicks', with the newly created proximity chat proving a hit with both the audience and seemingly Verstappen himself. (An F1 introduction when?)
As part of a group of media invited to the event, it's hard to quite put into words how much fun it was. We had access to the host of karters, a chance to put some questions to driver-trainer extraordinaire Lindblad, plus dinner and a tour at Red Bull's MK7 campus. You could tell there was a lot of genuine care and thought put into all of the details and, given the amount of people involved, it was remarkable that everything ran so smoothly.
Some parties involved in the running of the event might have hoped the race would have lasted a little longer, but all that means is that they'll have to give it another go at some point in the future. Anyone up for Max vs 200?
Megan covered the 'Max vs 100' event alongside Charley Williams - and they gave the lowdown on their experience over in The Race Members' Club! Head over there to listen to their full debrief
