Verstappen vs MADBUL – Can The F1 Champ Tame The Rotary?

Max Verstappen trades downforce for burnt rubber as he shreds for the first time in Mad Mike’s legendary 600-horsepower MADBUL RX7.

Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen hops into the Takata racing seat of drifting legend Mad Mike Whiddett‘s tire-slaying drift car, MADBUL, for his first taste of controlled chaos.

With Mad Mike showing him the ropes, Verstappen’s about to find out if he can hang with the drift crowd. Can he live up to the hype? Let’s find out!

The Challenges Begin

The star of the smoke show is Mad Mike’s iconic rotary-powered Mazda RX7, dubbed “MADBUL.” This beast of a car, pushing out 600 horsepower from the quad-rotor 26B engine and a fire-breathing exhaust, is Mad Mike’s claim to fame. Mike states that the MADBUL “made me who I am.” We’re sure you’d agree that his mind-blowing recent MADMAC rotary drift McLaren also earned him a fair bit of limelight!

Verstappen’s the first person, besides Mad Mike, to have the opportunity to tame the beast for his very first attempt at drifting – no pressure!

Lesson One – Mastering The Basics

Mad Mike prepares a series of entry-level challenges to introduce Verstappen to the drifting world. Despite his unquestionable F1 abilities, his first attempt results in a stall. Mike jokes that he’s being too gentle and encourages him to let it rip on the next try. He certainly doesn’t hold back!

From there, the F1 champ quickly gets the hang of donuts, showing off his natural feel for weight transfer and car control. The figure eights prove a bit trickier, with Max having a slight oopsie with an obstacle. “This clutch is so different,” he chuckles, proving that even the best can find it challenging. But the F1 ace is unsurprisingly quick to pick it up, and begins nailing the figure eights in no time.

Lesson Two – Advancing to High-Speed Drifting

Next up, a sweeping corner will be used to test his skills in weight transfer at speed. Max decides to switch gears after a cone becomes an unwilling passenger (requiring a quick rescue mission with a jack!)

Round two goes much smoother, though he still manages to “adopt” a cone. This time, it’s only hitching a ride in the rear diffuser – a perfected clipping point, surely?!

Lesson Three – The “Horner Challenge”

For the grand finale, Mike’s crew sets up ten giant cardboard cutouts with Christian Horner featuring a massive hand, placing the perfect clipping points along a long, sweeping corner. Verstappen’s mission? Smack as many as he can in one go. “If you can get eight?” Mad Mike teases as he sets the standard, reminding Max of his F1 cred.

Mad Mike leaves Verstappen to tame MADBUL alone for the first time, joking that he needs to find a safe spot to watch from. It’s Mike’s first chance to hear MADBUL roaring from the outside, a moment he’s been itching for.

Given his rookie status in the drift world, Verstappen’s performance is pretty damn impressive. He manages to clip all but two of Horner’s giant hands, demolishing the entire cut-out of the last one. Perhaps he knew more than we did then about the spicy relationship between the driver and his team boss!

A Future Drifter In The Making?

Verstappen’s time behind the wheel of MADBUL showed off his killer driving skills, and it was nice to see the light-hearted humor between the two drivers. As the smoke clears, Verstappen buzzes with excitement. “Great day for me,” he grins. “I probably want to do more now!”

If he did decide to dive deeper into the drifting eventually, he wouldn’t be the first Red Bull motorsport star to impress on the world stage.

Rally ace Kalle Rovanpera’s been tearing up the drift world using a Toyota GR Supra in the European Drift Masters series and a GR Corolla in Formula DRIFT Japan. This shows that top-notch drivers can easily adapt to different racing styles.

Rovanpera vs Verstappen drift battle, anyone?! Maybe not just yet, but we can hope…

Photography credits

We thank the Red Bull Motorsports YouTube channel for the use of their media in this article.

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