| Sophie Kumpen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Name: | Marie-Sophie Kumpen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 30 October 1975 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Hasselt, Belgium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children: | 2, including Max | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parents: | (father) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives: |
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Marie-Sophie Kumpen (born 30 October 1975) is a Belgian former racing driver and kart racer. She is the former wife of Dutch Formula One driver Jos Verstappen, and mother to four-time World Drivers' Champion Max Verstappen.
Born and raised in Hasselt, Kumpen is the daughter of Robert Kumpen, former chairman of KRC Genk, and the cousin of racing driver Anthony. Kumpen began her career in kart racing, competing at four Karting World Championships and winning the prestigious Andrea Margutti Trophy in 1995, becoming the third woman in history to win a major international karting title after Susanna Raganelli and Cathy Muller. She married Jos Verstappen the following year and retired from racing upon the birth of her son Max in September 1997. Kumpen returned to racing in 2013, competing in the Formido Swift Cup in the Netherlands before suffering a career-ending injury at Zandvoort.
Since retiring from motor racing, Kumpen has taken up a career as a social worker at the OCMW in Maaseik.
Marie-Sophie Kumpen was born on 30 October 1975 in Hasselt, Belgium. She is the daughter of, former chairman of association football club KRC Genk.[1] Her uncle, Paul Kumpen, and his son, Anthony, were both rally and racing drivers, respectively. Paul is the former co-owner of Ridley Bikes and founder of the eponymous PK Carsport,[2] and Anthony is a two-time champion of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series.[3]
Influenced by her family, Kumpen started kart racing aged 11.[4] She had a successful career in karting, racing in international competition against future Formula One drivers such as Jenson Button, Nick Heidfeld, Jarno Trulli and Giancarlo Fisichella, among others. Kumpen competed in four editions of the Karting World Championship from 1991 to 1994, finishing ninth in the Formula A class in the former.[5] She was acclaimed internationally as a top competitor in karting, known for her smooth driving style and ability to set consistent lap times.[6] [7]
Kumpen achieved her only major victory at the Andrea Margutti Trophy in 1995 with CRG,[8] [9] making her one of three women in history to win a major international karting title after Susanna Raganelli won the World Championship in 1966 and Cathy Muller won the European Championship in 1979.[10] [11] Former McLaren driver David Coulthard and Jordan Grand Prix owner Eddie Jordan both remarked that Kumpen had the potential to make it into Formula One.[7] Red Bull team principal and former racing driver Christian Horner, who raced against Kumpen in karts, described her as "very good".[12]
Kumpen progressed to touring car racing in the mid-1990s, but her career was cut short following her marriage to Jos Verstappen in 1996, as well as a crash she suffered whilst racing an Opel Lotus.
In 2013, Kumpen returned for a short time as a driver in the Formido Swift Cup. During the final races at Circuit Zandvoort, home of the Dutch Grand Prix, she crashed and broke a vertebra, ending her racing career aged 37.[7]
Kumpen married Formula One driver Jos Verstappen in 1996,[13] retiring from racing that year to focus on raising their children and assisting her husband in his career as a racing driver.[14] Both their children, Max and Victoria, also took up kart racing, with the former eventually joining Kumpen's CRG team and winning a record three FIA Karting Championships in a single season. Max went on to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in, becoming the first Dutch driver to win the title.[15] [16]
Kumpen and Verstappen separated in 2008. In December that year, Verstappen appeared in court in Tongeren, charged with assaulting Kumpen.[17] He was found not guilty of assault, but guilty of threatening Kumpen in text messages and of violating a previously issued restraining order. Verstappen was fined and sentenced to three months probation.[18] Throughout their marriage, Kumpen and Verstappen had been close personal friends with Michael Schumacher and Corinna Betsch.
After her sporting career, Kumpen started working as a social worker at the OCMW in Maaseik.[19] She has regularly attended Formula One Grands Prix to watch her son Max, but has admitted his racing career has worried her due to past incidents that ended her career. Kumpen is fluent in six languages: Flemish, Dutch, German, English, French and Italian, the latter she learned whilst racing for CRG.[20]
In November 2022, Kumpen made headlines for accusing Red Bull Racing driver, and Max's teammate, Sergio Pérez of cheating on his wife via Twitter.[21] The claims from Kumpen came after a controversial end to the 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix, where Max disobeyed team orders from Gianpiero Lambiase instructing him to let Pérez past for sixth position. She deleted the post moments later.[22]
| Season | Series | Team | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | CIK-FIA World Championship – FA | GKS Lemmens Power | 9th | |
| 1992 | CIK-FIA World Championship – FK | 26th | ||
| 1993 | CIK-FIA World Championship – FSA | 29th | ||
| 1994 | CIK-FIA World Championship – FSA | CRG | 17th | |
| 1995 | Andrea Margutti Trophy – FA | CRG | 1st | |
| Sources:[23] | ||||
Belgian