Who is Dries van Langendonck, the McLaren junior driver signed by Max Verstappen? Max Verstappen has given his support and backing to Dries van Langendonck, but who is the 15-year-old Belgian? Ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix last weekend, news surfaced that Max Verstappen had taken his first steps into driver development by giving backing to Dries van Langendonck. But who is the 15-year-old that has caught the attention of a four-time World Champion? Who is Dries van Langendonck? Van Langendonck is currently a McLaren junior driver, having joined the team's driver development programme in 2024 at the age of just 13 after winning the 2023 World Junior Karting title. A move into single-seaters beckoned last season, where the Belgian teenager became the youngest winner of a British Formula 4 race by winning on his debut at Donington Park. The 15-year-old also won the Iberia-based Formula Winter Series at the end of the year before returning for a full season of British F4 in 2026, where he currently leads the standings after winning four races. Why has Verstappen supported him? Verstappen is no stranger to taking an interest in motorsport outside the realms of F1, having set up his own GT and sim racing teams. But this decision marks the first time that the Verstappen Racing squad will actively support a young driver in the lower ranks of single-seater racing. Speaking ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, Verstappen gave his reasons for wanting to support Van Langendonck in his quest to reach F1. "Dries has been a big talent for a long time already in karting and I think you can spot quite quickly when someone is a little bit more special than someone else," said Verstappen. "I think that has carried on with what he is doing in F4