Max Mania in the Netherlands

By:  May 16, 2016 Categories: 

David Coulthard labelled it the sporting story of the year, but citizens of the Netherlands went even crazier when Max Verstappen crossed the finish line on lap 66, to win a Grand Prix at 18 years old.

Yesterday, grown-ups cheered and cried, newsbreaks hit the television, and timelines were flooded by celebrations as if we’d won the world cup. ‘Max Mania’ has sprang to full bloom.

Max’s hometown
This was Verstappen’s hometown of Montfort during the finish:

Football fans
Here’s a trainer of a football team from the Dutch national league, saying he heard the cheers for Max Verstappen’s win from the grandstands, during the football match.

 

Remix!
Olav Mol’s race commentary remixed with Armin van Buuren’s song:

Concert appearance!
During a concert in Amsterdam, a 68.000 people crowd went wild when the replays of Max Verstappen’s win were shown.

Dutch Murray Walker
Dutch commentator Olav Mol, live during the finish of the race, as he went all emotional, reminiscent of Murray Walker’s “And I’ve got to stop, because I have a lump in my throat.”

The TV broadcast team
The Dutch broadcasting team going wild, including WTCC driver Tom Coronel and former Red Bull driver Robert Doornbos:

 

The #GOMAX Fan Club
The ‘Gomax fanclub’ has been instrumental in the craze, with their Facebook page and group: they take a #GOMAX flag to each race and with each announcement, posts go through the roof. Here’s a grab of yesterday’s thousands of replies. Here’s a collection from on the track:

 

Here’s a collection from off the track:

My friend Bart (a great simracer) with a 2014 (ancient!) Max Verstappen flag after yesterday’s race.
Laura Mekenkamp-Saunier posted this after the race: “For Max!”

 

“I had these done today!”
Rachel Pauw writes: “He’s 8 years old and the biggest Max-fan!”
Erik Leonard hangs on the Scuderia Toro Rosso flag.
Frank Oud writes: “Hanging out the flag for our hero!”
Armand Wiersema writes: “YESSSSSSS!!!”
Marcel Van den Broek writes: “The flag hangs!”
Fred van Brussel writes: “Thanks Jos and Sophie for Max!”
Sander Warners writes: “Awesome!”
Willeke van Dijk writes: “Champagne! What a fantastic race!”
Miranda van Buul writes: “Cheers! To Max!”
André de Waal writes: “Normally our baker is closed on Monday. Today he sells this! And there’s a huge line outside!”
Anne Boersma writes: “Ice with wings! Our local store is selling this!”

 

Dutch Twitter!
And the Dutch citizens were on it at Twitter, too:

Latest

A summer’s day in autumn

A summer’s day in autumn

Set an alarm to 05:00, take a taxi to the train station, get onto the train, switch in Hangzhou, and get off in Tonglu (桐庐), take another taxi — to arrive 4 hours and 330 kilometers away from home. For a hike. Maybe it’s crazy, but the alternative is to stay home. You’ll have plenty […]
October 12, 2025
Mary in Qibao

Mary in Qibao

We’re in Qibao (七宝古镇) — an old water town swallowed by the city of Shanghai, now turned into a tourist attraction. In the center stands a moon bridge, surrounded by heavily renovated buildings that now house shops selling fridge magnets or bites such as ⁠tangyuan, scallion pancakes, red bean cake, and parts of pork or […]
October 11, 2025
Empty shops

Empty shops

If you squint your eyes, you can still see a busy little street here. The shops on Wangxin Road (王新街店铺) near Gaoqiao (高桥) in Pudong, were built in the late Qing Dynasty but now face an uncertain future. They’re not labeled for demolition (the character 拆 isn’t shown), but there are many tags of landlords […]
October 11, 2025
My favorite places in Shanghai (2025 update)

My favorite places in Shanghai (2025 update)

I saw this message from Curt about how difficult it is to love Shanghai, and there’s some truth in that. Maybe it’s too big a city to love, and I just love some specific locations of Shanghai. Let me have a go. Ye Garden Ye Garden (叶家花园), a ~100-year-old park in Yangpu, hidden behind a […]
October 10, 2025