Motor racing-Verstappen overtakes 100 go-karters in 35 minutes at Silverstone

FILE PHOTO: Formula One F1 - Spanish Grand Prix - Madring, Madrid, Spain - September 12, 2026 Red Bull's Max Verstappen after finishing in third place during qualifying REUTERS/Albert Gea/File Photo

Sept 16 (Reuters) - Red Bull's ⁠four-time Formula One champion Max Verstappen took 13 ⁠laps and 35 minutes to overtake 100 competitors in ‌a live televised go-karting 'Max vs 100' fun event at Silverstone on Wednesday.

Organisers had allowed a maximum 30 laps and 75 minutes for the ​Dutch driver to work his way through ⁠the field from the ⁠back on a modified kart track at the British Grand ⁠Prix ‌circuit but he needed far less.

The 28-year-old passed more than 60 rivals, who were then eliminated, ⁠on the chaotic opening lap. Dutch F1 journalist ​Jacky Martens, who ‌regularly reports on Verstappen's races, started on pole ⁠and was the ​last driver overtaken in a field that included social media content creators, celebrities and Red Bull athletes.

"I think this is ⁠the best one yet," joked Verstappen, winner ​of 71 grands prix.

"My first lap was quite incredible," he added. "There was a lot happening and actually a few cars ⁠got stuck and I always managed to be on the other side, so didn't get stuck."

The event was streamed live globally on ESPN on Disney+.

Verstappen has yet to win ​a grand prix this season and ⁠is sixth in a championship dominated by Mercedes. He finished second ​in the Spanish Grand Prix ‌last Sunday.

"It's my first win of ​the year, so I take this one," he said.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in LondonEditing by Toby Davis)

Thank you for your report!

资料照片：一级方程式赛车F1 - 西班牙大奖赛 - 马德里赛道，西班牙马德里 - 2026年9月12日，红牛车队的马克斯·维斯塔潘在排位赛中获得第三名后。路透社/阿尔伯特·赫亚/资料照片

9 月 16 日（路透社）——红牛车队四届一级方程式世界冠军马克斯·维斯塔潘周三在银石赛道举行的现场电视直播的卡丁车趣味赛“马克斯对决 100”中，用时 13 圈和 35 分钟超越了 100 名竞争对手。

组织者允许这位荷兰车手在英国大奖赛赛道上经过改装的卡丁车赛道上，最多跑 30 圈，用时 75 分钟，从后排一路追赶上来，但他实际用的时间远少于此。

这位28岁的车手在混乱的第一圈就超越了60多位对手，这些对手随后都被淘汰出局。经常报道维斯塔潘比赛的荷兰F1记者杰基·马滕斯从杆位发车，是最后一位被超越的车手，参赛选手包括社交媒体内容创作者、名人以及红牛车队的运动员。

“我认为这是迄今为止最好的一次，” 维斯塔潘开玩笑说，他曾赢得过 71 场大奖赛的冠军。

“我的第一圈简直太棒了，”他补充道。“当时情况很混乱，实际上有好几辆车陷住了，但我总能设法跑到赛道的另一边，所以没有被困住。”

该赛事通过迪士尼+上的ESPN频道向全球直播。

维斯塔潘本赛季尚未赢得任何一场大奖赛冠军，在梅赛德斯车队占据主导地位的车手积分榜上排名第六。上周日，他在西班牙大奖赛中获得亚军。

“这是我今年的第一场胜利，所以我接受这场胜利，”他说。

（伦敦 Alan Baldwin 报道，Toby Davis 编辑）

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