Busiest day ever in Max Verstappen shop: 'Max is an inspiration'

Published on 08 October 2023 by Misha van der Kroon

From Doha in Qatar to Batavia Stad in Lelystad and Swalmen near Roermond in the Netherlands, Max Verstappen's third Formula 1 world title is being celebrated by fans all over the world. On Saturday evening, Max and the Oracle Red Bull Racing team had a small party to celebrate the third title, but on Sunday everyone at the two physical Max Verstappen stores in the Netherlands is in a party mood.

Nico de Jong, CEO of Verstappen.com, watched the sprint race together with his team, and saw Max secure his third title. From the shop in Swalmen, where the Red Bull RB12 Formula 1 car with which Max won his first Grand Prix in Barcelona in 2016 can be admired, De Jong says: “We have been looking forward to it for a long time, and were very busy with all the preparations. Now the time has come, it’s a fantastic moment. However, we never saw the end of the race, because we were busy with the final preparations. A glass of champagne in one hand, and working with the other."

Nico continues: “We saw a huge number of visitors to our webshop on Verstappen.com, already during the race. Once Max became world champion and we went live with our own World Champion 2023 collection, things went crazy. In order to offer all customers a good shopping experience, a queue was set up. At the peak moment, there were more than 33 thousand visitors waiting to enter the webshop.”

It is now mainly about the World Champion 2023 collection consisting of a hoodie, T-shirt and cap with the characteristic lion, number one and three stars. On Sunday morning at 7:30, the first fans, all the way from Rotterdam, were already waiting in front of the store in Swalmen, which is open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. "It is very busy. Around noon we had already had about a thousand visitors in Swalmen, ten times as many as on a normal Sunday. The impact of Max's third title is tremendous, you can really feel that here. Today and in the coming weeks we will celebrate that together. We are very proud of Max.”

In the store in Swalmen, a unique item can be admired. Nico says: “It really is very special that we already have the champion helmet that Max will wear on Sunday’s race here in the store. It can also already be ordered as a scale model in sizes 1:2 and 1:4. I think it turned out really beautiful this year, with the gold and dark blue. And of course the three stars on the back are very special. A helmet like this is truly a personal item of Max, and this way we stay closely involved with everything.”

An incredible year with only highlights for Max, who has written Formula 1 history with all his achievements in a dominant season. Will it ever be enough? “No, Max keeps pushing, we also keep going and fortunately the fans keep going as well,” Nico says. “It’s one big party, everybody is happy. We hope that this success lasts for a long time, and that we can continue supporting Max and enjoying his achievements together with all the fans. Max is passionate enough, and so are we. His attitude and mindset are an inspiration to us all.”

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