Verstappen, took on a lifelong ambition to learn to drive a drift car with the help of none other than professional drift driver and record-breaker ‘Mad’ Mike Whiddett.

In the world of motorsports, Formula One stands as the epitome of precision and breakneck speed. Drifting, on the other hand, is the art of controlled anarchy, where drivers deliberately make their cars slide. At Milton Keynes, these two worlds spectacularly converged as Formula 1 World Champion and Oracle Red Bull Racing Driver Max Verstappen, took on a lifelong ambition to learn to drive a drift car with the help of none other than professional drift driver and record-breaker ‘Mad’ Mike Whiddett.

Verstappen, who is in the middle of a superb 2023 season on an eight-race winning streak, has always wanted to master another art form of driving.

Whiddett is no stranger to challenges. He has successfully drifted around difficult locations like the UK’s complex ‘Magic Roundabout‘ in Swindon, a roundabout known for its bewildering design. He has also taken his BADBUL drift car on a thrilling high-speed run on South Africa’s scenic Franschhoek Pass at 248kph. With such experiences under his belt, Whiddett had the perfect expertise to mentor Verstappen in this new venture.

Verstappen, who has reeled off ten victories already this season and sits at the top of the drivers’ standings, battled rare nerves as he grappled with the 600HP MADBUL drift car, a stark contrast to his usual F1 machine.

With ‘Mad Mike’ guiding, Verstappen was thrust into high-speed doughnuts, figure-of-8 manoeuvres, and the rapid direction-change known as the Scandi-flick and finishing with a surprise appearance from a familiar face to keep him on his toes at the ‘Horner Corner’ trick.

While Verstappen’s usual F1 cars are aerodynamic marvels designed for speed and grip, the MADBUL, an FD3S Mazda RX-7 with 600HP, is built to slide gracefully. It’s a machine that demands mastery to control its sideways dance across the circuit.

“Learning to drift was very crazy; I didn’t know what to expect,” said Verstappen. “I think it was the most nervous I’ve been in the past two years because it’s not natural to how I normally drive. It felt like I was 16 again and jumping into an F1 car for the first time! As soon as the engine started and I began drifting with the wheels spinning, I got into my natural zone where I was finding the limits of the car, as I do in F1 – I felt that same adrenaline rush, and my instinct took over.”

Whiddett added, “We really pushed the limits with Max, and I hope he learnt some awesome tricks he can take to the F1 track – drifting is as raw as it gets! I’d love to try out these challenges in an F1 car and see what’s possible in Max’s seat next time.”