Max Verstappen's mother shares an interesting pre-race weekend ritual that she follows for the 4x world champion
Max Verstappen's mother, Sophie Kumpen, recently shared an interesting insight into her ritual ahead of her son's race weekend. Kumpen, in one of her latest interviews, stated that she lights candles and sends him a message before Verstappen's Formula 1 race.
Verstappen was born on September 30, 1997, in Hasselt, Belgium, to Jos Verstappen and Sophie Kumpen. However, his parents were separated when he was young, and he lived with his father, a former F1 driver.
Kumpen, on the other hand, lived with her daughter, Victoria. However, the Red Bull driver was in constant touch with his mother. Notably, Kumpen is also seen at the paddock, often attending her son's race.
Sophie Kumpen recently attended an interview with Belgian media, RTBF, where she opened up about a unique ritual she follows during Verstappen's race weekend. Here's what she had to say:
"Every Thursday I light up a candle for him and I send his picture and that he knows it."
Max Verstappen comes from a racing family, as both Verstappen Sr. and Kumpen were racing drivers. While Jos Verstappen was a prominent star during his days as a driver, Kumpen was no less.
Max Verstappen's mother was once top ten in the world: Red Bull boss
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner recently touched upon Sophie Kumpen's illustrious racing skills and praised her as a top ten talent in the world. In the recently surfaced Eff Won podcast, Horner said,
“I raced in the 1989 Junior Karting Championship, and I raced against Max Verstappen’s mum,” Horner said. “She was in the top ten in the world at that point, she was fantastic.”
Not just Horner, but also Jenson Button, a former F1 driver, shared his take on Kumpen, against whom he raced in karts.
"Sophie, Max’s mum, was a fantastic driver," Button said. "When I was racing in karts in 1995, she was my teammate so I saw her drive. I knew how good she was. It was her and the late Lotta Hellberg, those two were just awesome, so fast.”
Coming from such a family, the 27-year-old driver was naturally very strong when it came to racing. Years down the line, he is now a four-time world champion. Verstappen claimed his fourth consecutive F1 title in Las Vegas after finishing the race in P5.
The Dutchman wrapped up the title with two race weekends to spare, as he has a 63-point cushion over his title rival Lando Norris of McLaren. Even if Norris wins the next two races, the Sprint, and takes two fastest lap points, and Verstappen suffers DNFs in all the races, he would cover off a maximum of 60 points. Three points less than Verstappen.