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Four-time Formula One World Champion returns to racing roots to face 100 competitors in Red Bull’s ultimate go-kart race ‘Max vs 100’ on September 16, live on Disney+ and the ESPN App
Four-time Formula One World Champion Max Verstappen, who recently extended his contract with Oracle Red Bull Racing until the end of 2030, will return to his racing roots when he attempts to overtake 100 drivers in “Max vs 100’’. Taking place at Silverstone in England, one of the sport’s most iconic circuits, Max will start from the back, with the task of overtaking every single one of the 100 challengers in one of the biggest go-kart races the world has seen.
The exclusive, closed race is built around a bold question: could you beat Max Verstappen if the odds were stacked in your favour?
Like many F1 champions, Dutchman Max Verstappen started out racing go-karts from the age of just four in his bid to reach the top of the motorsports world and competed in championships at the age of seven.
After dominating in Belgium and the Netherlands, he reeled off a string of World and European titles culminating in a spectacular 2013 season that soon propelled him into the F1 ranks.
This time around, Max will not be pitted against other drivers but his 100 competitors come from every corner of sport and culture: ultrarunner Arda Saatçi, basketball shooting phenomenon Chris “Lethal Shooter” Matthews and freestyle mountain biker Matt Jones – will share the grid with streamers TheGrefg, Caedrel and TheDonato, plus content creators, personalities and everyday fans invited from around the world.
For Max, it’s a return to his roots. Before the titles and the records came the karts, the training ground where he developed the instincts and craft that shaped his career.
Max Verstappen said: “In go-karts you learn all the basics: starts, defending, overtaking,” he says. “Of course, I spent a long period of my life go-karting, so it’s always nice to return. It’s about understanding the grip of the go-kart. I’ve done so many years in go-karting that you quite naturally get back into things.”
The circuit at Silverstone has been purpose-built for the occasion by Race Director and French racing driver David Terrien – a renowned kart designer and youth karting world champion. “Creating a track for 100 drivers at the same time has never been done, never been seen,” says Terrien. “So it’s very exciting.”
With Max usually at the front of the field, this challenge will recreate the format that shaped his early career as the sheer number of rivals makes the outcome anything but certain.
Terrien added: “When you have Max Verstappen chasing everyone, I think that’s going to be the experience of a lifetime for all the drivers. You’re going to have Max showcasing all these skills of looking through the traffic, trying to prepare and plan where he can overtake people, and going through the traffic at the fastest speed he can because he doesn’t want to let the drivers at the front pull away.”
Ahead of race day, the layout was shaken down at a Kart Silverstone test, with Terrien and test driver Sebastian Job on track. “I think to overtake 100 cars is going to be extremely difficult,” says Job, two-time iRacing World Champion and Simracer, Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing. “Today we did it with 50, and even that was a challenge to do it in the allotted time. He’s got his work cut out for him big time.”
Asked what Max Verstappen was most looking forward to, his answer was simple. “Just seeing the carnage unfold in front of me.”
The race will bring fans closer to the action with game-inspired graphics and cinematic drone footage. Live race data and on-screen insights will be displayed on screen ensuring fans can follow every stage of the race as it unfolds. In a unique twist, Max will be able to communicate directly with his competitors during the race, offering fans an unparalleled insight into the conversations that help shape the race as it unfolds.
Max Verstappen vs 100 drivers, on one grid. The world can watch it all play out live globally on Disney+ on 16 September 2026. “Max vs 100” will also air live on the ESPN App for ESPN Unlimited subscribers in the U.S. before a delayed ESPN2 broadcast later that day.
