2026 General News
Max vs 100 live commentary and updates
Max Verstappen is at Silverstone today (16 September) with the task of fighting through a 101-kart grid within 30 laps
Live Text
And we shall reveal all in our reaction pieces to come. But it was certainly a session with plenty of laughter and a nice story about a Red Bull employee partaking!
Bye for now.
Now off to the press conference, let's see what he says!
Shame he can't deploy a similar tactic on his F1 car.
"Quite incredible," says Verstappen on how quick he managed to do it. 37 minutes, or 14 laps - so not even half of the allocated time!
So we've now seen Verstappen win in a GT car and kart in 2026...but not his RB22!
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Well that was fun! Maybe never again though...
Max Verstappen takes on 100 karters: signed, sealed and delivered!
There's supposedly a maximum of 42 minutes to go - me says it's actually two!
Deffo could do it in one. Verstappen takes his 'fast lap' and is on the tail of the top two.
"Two laps", says Verstappen, when asked how long until this ends. Surely he could do it in one!
Turns out the top three didn't work together! One dropped back and got eaten up by the shark. Two to go.
Can somebody insert the 'Jaws' theme tune?
Turns out four laps was quite an optimistic prediction. He's arriving on the tail of the top three now.
Commentator: "What's the plan guys when Max arrives?"
"Three-wide," one of the amateurs states. Finally, some actual defensive tactics from these folk.
Red Bull's partner Oracle states Verstappen is projected to win in four laps. The race has somewhat settled now, but there's only three drivers to go.
So there is a positive to Verstappen no longer being the reigning world champion. Clever puns for Red Bull's media team!
We're now on a timer until the end with it currently standing at 52 minutes. Quite cute that we even think there's a chance of it reaching that point.
So now we've all realised that maybe 30 laps is a lot, the top four have all been given an extra 'fast lap', which allows them to take a shortcut and try to pull further clear.
...but as soon as that gets typed, he's now fourth.
Lap 7/30
Top five now after pushing one of the amateurs onto the grass. Now if this was F1, he'd be told to give that position back. Where're the stewards?!
Lap 6/30
Six to go. More entertainment than Madrid, especially when we've just seen him go lawn-mowing through the grass!
For your enjoyment:
Lap 5/30
The man only has 16 to go. I would say it is reminiscent of his comeback in Sao Paulo, 2024, but at least some of those drivers put up more of a fight!
Lap 4/30
Verstappen now has 25 karts to go. It's almost like he's a world champion or something. Not sure any of these overtakes will be considered his best, though.
Lap 3/30
Can somebody please tell these amateurs that the blue flag doesn't exist here? Defend harder! (He says, from his desk).
Lap 3/30
We're back green. 35 to go.
As mind-blown as you guys.
Lap 2/30
Something tells me we ain't reaching lap 30. Maybe there'll be time for last orders down the pub after all!
So it is lap one and Verstappen 'only' has 37 karts to go. It was pretty sensational just watching him weave through the traffic one by one before they even got to Turn 1.
David versus Goliath, quite literally.
And now we have our yellow flag. What an absolute bonkers start that was - Verstappen even cut one of the corners like it was Madrid all over again!
So we've done about four corners and he's already eliminated about half the field. This may not take long.
Go, go, go!
"I hope I can talk to a few people," says Verstappen, who can talk directly to his rivals via the radio.
'No Michael no, this is so not right,' he may say, as one of the amateurs punts him out.
The live broadcast has cut to Verstappen doing the long walk to the back of the grid. Wonder when the last time he had to do that was!
Your humble scribe on his passenger lap earlier, driven by Red Bull sim driver Sebastian Job. Few kisses with the barriers aside, it was mega. So a pretty good track in fairness.
Can we please ban the word 'aura'?
"I have driven in karts from the ages of four to fifteen years old, so this is a nice opportunity to go back to basics and revisit how I got into the sport in the first place.
“When we get to the track, it will be about learning the circuit itself and getting comfortable with the grip of the kart.
“I think I should quite naturally get back into things but it is good to know I have help from the data simulations that we managed to get from the Qualifying sessions.
“I know some of them will be very fast and I think everyone there will be quite competitive, so it is going to be quite interesting and very hectic to see the carnage unfold in front of me.
“Trying to race 100 people will be very tough and will require patience to get through the field as quickly as possible. I’m looking forward to it and this is, of course, something only Red Bull would do.
“I haven’t driven in go karting in quite a few years so it will be fun to go back and see how I go, but there are a lot of people to overtake so let’s see!"
Quote provided to you by Max Verstappen...or his press officer, who knows! We're not allowed 1-2-1 access with him, except for a press conference later.
Still more than the Nurburgring 24h though, where our one chance of speaking to him abruptly ended when his Merc essentially gave up on itself towards the end.
Essentially, Verstappen will start at the back of the grid and he has 30 laps - or a maximum of 55-75 minutes - to overtake his 100 rivals to win the contest.
It is taking place on a purpose-built circuit which incorporates Silverstone's kart track and some of its actual circuit, such as Brooklands. A lap time is roughly two minutes.
The four-time world champion is competing against a bunch of amateurs, from content creators to athletes to general fans, and each time one is overtaken, they are eliminated from the contest.
By: Ed Hardy
