These Are The Drivers You Hoped Would Beat Max Verstappen At Karting - Jalopnik

Max Verstappen sits at the back of 100 karts

Red Bull

Folks, it happened: Max Verstappen raced 100 other athletes, celebrities, Twitch streamers, and engineers on go karts. As everyone expected, Max won. As few people (Max included) expected, he passed more than half the pack within just seconds of starting the race — by the first corner, he'd already passed the racer (Janja Garnbret) I'd hoped to beat him.

How about your picks, though? Who did you want to beat Max Verstappen? That's the question I asked all of you the other day, and today we're going through your answers. Some of you agreed with my choice of Janja, others suggested folks previously announced, and some of you came up with your own racers that you bet would be involved. None of us were right, no one was able to hold Max off for 30 laps of Silverstone, but at least we can look through the answers that could have been. Let's dive in.

Noah Baglin

TKART on YouTube

Janja is amazing. Her Olympic performance was insane.

I'm thinking that Noah Baglin has to be in the mix. He's the current World Junior Karting Champion. He's 14-years-old and has a seat in the Scuderia Ferrari Drivers Academy. He would know the kart better than Verstappen at this point, and with a not-yet-developed pre-frontal cortex, is more likely to make big moves regardless of consequence.

Submitted by: JohnnyWasASchoolBoy

You said World Junior Karting Champion, you said his age, and I still wasn't prepared for how Junior he is.

Lewis Hamilton

Clive Mason/Getty Images

Have Lewis Hamilton show up dressed as the Stig, and have him start one position ahead of Verstappen, and tell Verstappen nothing. Let the hilarity ensue.

Submitted by: MrMcGeeIn3D

A slower Mario Kart racer

OSAKA, JAPAN - AUG 13, 2025 : Mario and Mario Kart at the goods store at the exit of the attraction Mario Kart in Nintendo World.Super Nintendo World is a themed area at Universal Studios Japan.

Usa-Pyon/Shutterstock

Someone slow enough so they get a blue shell they can use right at the finish.

Submitted by: potbellyjoe

All of the above

Red Bull

I want all 100 drivers to beat him.

But as a former competitive climber (well before it was in the Olympics), I am a big fan of Janja as well.

Submitted by: Neal Richards

Wasn't Diamond Joe the driver of the two?

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 11: From left: Former First Lady Michelle Obama and Former President Barack Obama attend the 9/11 25th anniversary commemoration ceremony at the National 911 Memorial and Museum in New York on September 11, 2026, in New York City. The United States is marking the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when a group of al-Qaeda hijackers flew airplanes into the World Trade Center, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. (Photo by Hiroko Masuike - Pool/Getty Images)

Pool/Getty Images

Barack Obama. I don't care who you are, that would be worth watching.

Submitted by: GUestarino

Oscar the Grouch

Noam Galai/Getty Images

Just looked at the list and other than Janja, who I now know from this post, I know of no one on the list. So it's almost meaningless. "Random people get spanked by Max" is probably the eventual headline.

I can only hope that in the 11 that aren't known, that Oscar the Grouch is included, and he puts a schooling down on Max.

Submitted by: dolsh

Green Bay

Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

The Packers. They have to beat somebody.

Submitted by: OakNapkins

Sarah Lezito

I hope its Sarah Lezito. Her motorcycle antics are crazy entertaining.

Submitted by: Heisenberg

I want to hang out with Sarah Lezito so bad. I may not "speak French" or whatever, but I feel like we could figure that out.

Kyle Larson

Meg Oliphant/Getty Images

Kyle Larson, bet he could give Max a run for his money.

Submitted by: IB007

I appreciate your nonspecificity