Who was Peter van Egmond? All about the iconic F1 photographer close to Max Verstappen's family

F1 photographer Peter van Egmond, who had close ties to the Max Verstappen family, passed away on January 2 after a battle with cancer. The Netherlands has not seen many people join the pinnacle of motorsport in some shape or form.

There have only been 17 Dutch drivers in 75 years of F1 and a handful of media personnel over the years. Drivers like Gijs van Lennep, who had seen success outside the sport as he won the Le Mans two times, only competed in 12 Grand Prixs.

Arguably, former F1 driver Jos Verstappen was the most famous in his country in the sport before his son Max joined in 2015. So it was quite a feat that Van Egmond made a name for himself in the world of F1 with his skills behind the camera.

Who was F1 photographer Peter van Egmond?

Peter van Egmond was born in 1956 and his interest in the sport grew when his father took him to the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort as a kid. The iconic track was a permanent fixture in the F1 calendar until 1985 before making its return in 2021 owing to Red Bull driver Max Verstappen's evergrowing popularity in the country.

As he recalled, Van Egmond started clicking pictures of the F1 cars on his mother's compact camera. Known as "The Legend" in the F1 paddock, the Dutchman attended around 558 races in his almost three-decade-long career, with the 2024 Brazilian GP being his last.

The 68-year-old had close ties with the Milton-Keynes outfit and would help the team during races as his pictures of the tires would be one of the factors transmitting information regarding the degradation and in turn assist the Austrian team with their pit stop strategies in-race.

How was Peter van Egmond associated with Max Verstappen?

Being Dutch, Peter van Egmond had become associated with Jos Verstappen and his family over the years. With Red Bull being one of his most important clients in the latter half of his career, he saw Max Verstappen's growth within the outfit and the sport firsthand.

Van Egmond worked with his fellow compatriots extensively and even covered his documentaries on ViaPlay for multiple years. Speaking about his close relationship with the four-time F1 world champion, the late F1 photographer claimed that he became "emotional" during the Dutchman's first race win at the 2016 Spanish GP, as he had always dreamt of seeing a driver from his country on the podium.

Max Verstappen too held the F1 photographer in high regard as he and his family members were quick to give their respects after the news of his passing and informed the fans on their social media accounts.