Renowned ex-karting driver Sophie Kumpen left racing to join her son Max Verstappen in F1

A Formula 1 fan with a moderately advanced knowledge knows that Jos Verstappen , the father of Max Verstappen , was an F1 driver who raced for nearly a decade, even being a teammate of Michael Schumacher at Benetton and stepping onto the podium at a few times. Jos Verstappen is also known to have been involved in one of Formula 1's most memorable incidents.

However, few people know Max Verstappen's mother , Sophie Kumpen , a former karting star who gave up her career at the age of 21 to support her son and help him reach the top. Some believe that Max Verstappen's winning genes come from his mother.

Kumpen rubbed shoulders with Button, Fisichella or Trulli in karting

It's been decades since a woman competed in a Formula 1 race, but it might have been different had Sophie Kumpen continued her sporting career. His family, which had a strong automotive tradition, included Verstappen's mother, who was a gifted driver.

The words of Jenson Button , a Formula 1 world champion, testify to her remarkable driving skills: he and Kumpen were teammates in karting during the 1995 season.

Kumpen's career was so remarkable that she could envision reaching Formula 1 one day. From her debut in karting, she showed prodigious talent: during her first participation in the world championship, she finished ninth, even ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella, who won three races in Formula 1.

However, the real world karting prodigy of the 1990s was Italian Jarno Trulli , who became a driver for Renault and Toyota, and won the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix . Trulli was a real star in karting, winning up to two world championships before moving on to single-seaters.

In 1995, at the prestigious annual Andrea Margutti karting competition , which takes place in Lombardy, near Bergamo, Kumpen took victory over Trulli, just after the latter won his second karting world championship. However, Verstappen's mother managed to win the Andrea Margutti ahead of him.

Christian Horner , the current Red Bull team boss who was once beaten by Kumpen, says Sophie was unquestionably among the top ten go-kart drivers in the world. Although there were very talented riders like Jarno Trulli , Giancarlo Fisichella , Jan Magnussen or Dario Franchitti , according to him Sophie was on their level.

As the possibility of realizing his dream of becoming a Formula 1 driver came into view, Kumpen's career came to an end. She met and married Jos Verstappen , a Formula One driver, and decided to end her career in 1997 when she became pregnant by Max Verstappen .

Although she had already tested a few cars, she chose to take care of her family rather than pursue her dream. "I really liked motor racing, but I decided to put my family first," she said a few years ago.

Although she gave up her dream, she found great satisfaction in seeing her son become a Formula 1 driver. Kumpen's pregnancy may have deprived Formula 1 of a champion, as she had rubbed shoulders with the best drivers in karting.