The next Max Verstappen? Teenage sensation racing at Silverstone this weekend

The Dutchman started out in karting, but moved to the Ginettas last year after realising his budget wasn’t going to fund a single-seater career.

While he showed pace in F4 and F3 machines, it’s become very apparent that De Haan’s touch at the wheel in sports cars marks him out from the crowd.

Motor Sport saw first-hand the youngster’s abilities at the Carrera Cup GB Oulton Park meeting, in a weekend which served as microcosm for his current form – both good and bad.

The still-16-year-old set pole by 0.4sec, leaving mouths gaping amongst spectators and paddock veterans alike, before blowing his start in the first race. The Dutchman fought back to second, but was then demoted to 17th for both track limits violations and punting off title rival and official Porsche junior driver Adam Smalley along way.

Starting at the back in race 2, De Haan rocketed through the field to sixth – all in a weekend’s work for the spectacular teenager.

The Dutch ace explains his recent trajectory in sports cars, which has been nothing short of remarkable, especially for someone so young,

“I moved to Ginetta Juniors in 2021 [winning three races as a 14-year-old],” he says. “It was an amazing season, just incredible wheel-to-wheel racing – a very fun category.

“A lot of people were saying to me: ‘You should really test a Porsche, it would combine really well with your driving style.’

“I entered a race meeting in the Porsche Southern Europe Sprint Cup at Valencia last year [using similar 911s to Carrera Cup], and won both races.

“We said ‘Well, we have to do the rest of the championship now’ – and we won that too.”

De Haan emphasises to Motor Sport just why he’s so good in sports cars – in between mutterings about his latest grievances with the stewards.

“I just like GT cars more, I can drive them better than a single seater really,” he says. “I love the racing, fighting, touching doors, not very clean.

“The cars are actually quite hard to drive, engine at the back, no weight on the front axle, no ABS, no traction control – but I actually really like them.”

As highlighted above, De Haan has made a huge impression on the Carrera GB paddock – not always for the better.

“I can feel that people are not really in love with me,” he admits. “Of course no-one likes to get beaten by a 16-year-old – there’s a sort of pressure on my back with everyone trying to beat me. In Benelux Cup though, I’m friends with everyone.”

De Haan is concurrently leading the equivalent Porsche series in Belgium and the Netherlands, but says he has a particular taste for British circuits.

“I like the tracks in the UK, Oulton Park is quite an interesting one. Tight, a lot of bumps, up and down. I am a quite aggressive driver, so it suits me.”

The list of prospects that have made it at the top level in sports cars after starting out in a Carrera Cup series is an illustrious one: Earl Bamber, Nick Tandy and Mike Rockenfeller have all conquered Le Mans, and more recent examples like Richard Westbrook, Rene Rast, Charlie Eastwood and Dan Harper have forged hugely successful sports car careers.

De Haan has the chance to impress at Silverstone this weekend, but also has his eyes on future prizes.

“The goal is to do [the entire championship of] Porsche Supercup next year,” he says. “Of course, I would love to become a Porsche factory driver, do Le Mans. That would be amazing.”

If the incredible trail marked out by De Haan continues to blaze, could we see him pointing back in the direction of F1 even?

Watch this space.