"Now I'm better than you": When Max Verstappen joked with Jos Verstappen after surpassing his record

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen pulled his father, former F1 driver Jos Verstappen's leg, and said he was better than him after winning his third karting championship at 16. The Dutch driver has been a child prodigy in racing as he dominated the junior categories on his way to debuting at the pinnacle of motorsport at 17. The 27-year-old showcased his prowess in the single-seaters when he finished P3 in the F3 championship on his first attempt in 2014.

In an old interview resurfacing on social media, Verstappen was asked if he was better than his father at 16 despite the latter racing for teams like Benetton in F1 and if he had highlighted that to him.

"Well, actually he started with that because when I became the European [karting] champion for the first time, he said, 'I became the European champion twice in a year.' So I thought to myself, 'I'll try to do better.' So when I won my second European Championship, I immediately walked up to him and said, 'Now we're even,'" Max Verstappen said [translated from Dutch].

"And then after we had the World Championship, in the end, I won that too and then I went to him again, and I said, 'Now I'm better than you over a whole year.'"

Verstappen had wanted a go-kart at 4 and approached his father with the proposition but was initially turned down.

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Max Verstappen recalls his decision of wanting a go-kart at four

Speaking with GQ Italia, the three-time Red Bull world champion Max Verstappen recalled that his persistence paid off as he eventually got his father Jos to buy him a go-kart when he was four.

"I was four years old and saw a kid younger than me already driving a mini-kart. I went to my father and told him I wanted to do it too, but he initially said no. He said I needed to grow up a bit more. I kept insisting and six months later - with encouragement from my mother - I finally got my first kart," Max Verstappen said.

"I see so many parents pushing their young children towards something. My parents fortunately didn't. When they noticed that I really liked it, they helped me get better. I admit I was very lucky because racing was also their passion."

Three-time world champion Niki Lauda hailed Verstappen as the "talent of the century" after being impressed by the Dutch driver's staunch defense against Kimi Raikkonen in Spain in 2016, as Verstappen won his first F1 race. The Austrian later took off his hat in Brazil the same year after the then-19-year-old impressed him with his driving in the torrential rain.