F1 world champ takes on Japanese driver at 120kph ahead of Dutch Grand Prix.
Reigning Formula One world champion Max Verstappen is preparing for this weekend’s home Dutch Grand Prix with a hair-raising showdown against Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda as the two drivers went head-to-head in reverse gear at a daunting 120kph.
For the first time ever as a world champion, Verstappen finally gets to race in his home country so naturally he would race DAF equipped their cars with CVT transmissions featuring just two gears – one forward and one reverse, allowing them to reach the same top speed in either direction, ahead of the race weekend.
Verstappen arrives at the Dutch circuit fresh off his superb Belgian Grand Prix victory last weekend where he started 14th on the grid at Spa and powered through the field to pick up another win and the fastest lap.
Ahead of the penultimate European race of the current season, Verstappen joined Alpha Tauri driver Yuki Tsunoda at Zandvoort for a unique track clash thanks to the wild and wacky world of reverse gear racing.
The reverse race is not the first time that they have gone head-to-head in a different vehicle this season as Tsunoda triumphed when the duo raced Swamp Buggies on the water at Florida back in May.
For this latest 2022 showdown, when the flag dropped, the competition was furious as Verstappen grabbed pole position after Tsunoda’s ambition got the better of him and his DAF ended up against a wall.
“I’d seen a few videos on YouTube beforehand and thought it’d be great fun to experience a reverse race first-hand,” said Verstappen. “We had a lot of fun and I think it was a pretty steady performance. I’ve never driven that quick in reverse before, of course we all reverse now and then, but very slowly, so this was a new experience. The car can hit up to 120km per hour and goes just as fast in reverse. I think I’ll be sticking to forward racing for now. Time for our next challenge!”