Who Do You Want To Beat Max Verstappen At Karting?

Tomorrow, September 16, Max Verstappen is set to race 100 other drivers through 30 laps of Silverstone — all in go karts. F1's fastest boy will start at the back of the 101-kart pack, and each driver will be eliminated the second Max completes a pass on them. The competitors range from Twitch streamers to fellow Red Bull-sponsored athletes, TikTokers to Olympians, and it's entirely possible that at least one of them will cross the finish line before Max. The only question: Who should it be?

Red Bull has released a list of 89 of the competitors, who range from automotive mainstays like Larry Chen, Pol Tarres, and Sarah Lezito to a "sports presenter" from the Daily Mail and that guy who does car sounds with his mouth on TikTok. It's what we might call an eclectic grid — especially given we don't know some of the competitors yet, and Red Bull may well be bringing out ringers — but surely someone in this crowd can give Max a run for his money. Who do you think it should be?

I didn't learn about the Max Vs 100 entry list through following Max — I'm famously not an F1 girlie, despite having actually met Max in person at the Civic Type R launch — but through the Instagram of an athlete I actually do follow: Janja Garnbret. She's a Slovenian rock climber,  a two-time Olympic gold medalist, 51-time World Climbing Series gold medalist, the first woman to onsight 5.14b, and the second woman to climb 5.15c — she's arguably the greatest female rock climber in the world. Also, c'mon, just look at her arms. You think little Max is going to be able to whip a kart around with more control than her with those guns?

I truly hope Janja beats Max tomorrow, both because I think it would be funny for a complete non-racer to win and because I think Janja's pure heart and spirit will carry her to victory. Who do you want to win, though? Someone on the list, or do you have a guess as to who remains unannounced? Let me know your hopes and predictions below, and I'll collect my favorites after the race.