Giedo van der Garde: “Max is the biggest star in the Netherlands today”

Before the Verstappen madness, he was the last representative of the Netherlands on the grid. The two men could even have crossed paths on the track during the 2015 season. But a legal imbroglio with Sauber, which is reminiscent of the recent Piastri affair, put an end to the dream of the former Caterham driver. Giedo tells us about this slightly crazy episode during a trip in a BMW M4 between Amsterdam where he lives and the Zandvoort circuit which he knows like the back of his hand. Engine.

Published on 16/12/2023 à 15:45

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Giedo van der Garde: “Max is the biggest star in the Netherlands today”

Giedo van der Garde - F1 driver and consultant for Dutch television © DPPI

While Giedo van der Garde announced his retirement this Saturday, December 16, 2023, we invite you to dive back into his career with him through this carpooling made on the occasion of the Grand Prix of Formula 1 of the Netherlands 2022.

Nice company car!

I have a partnership with BMW, which allows me to have a new car every three to four months. That's great ! I had the first M3, Black Edition, rear wheel drive. I had another one, with 4 wheel drive. He was a monster. It was super fast, but with impeccable handling. I asked them to give it to me again. Well, in the meantime, the M4 is very nice too, eh.

Did you fall into the world of motorsport when you were a kid?

My father raced at a young age, but it was for fun. He was quite talented in fact! He was riding with Allard Kalff who is one of our commentators on the Viaplay channel (official broadcaster of F1 in the Netherlands. Editor’s note). He then focused on business. My grandfather had a small business selling childcare items. My father grew the business. I didn't see him much until I was nine, because he was always working to develop the company. He was always going all out. Once business started to go well, my father said to himself: “ OK, I better pay more attention to my son ". I was the only one at home. He bought me a karting. We started doing tests, then competition here and there. By the end of our first season, I was winning races. The following year, I scored even more victories, and finished 5th in the Dutch championship. The following year again, I was twelve years old and I won the Dutch championship. I had already tried lots of sports: football, hockey, basketball, but