Max Verstappen Chases TikTok Creator at Silverstone
Max Verstappen is used to hunting down the very best drivers in the world. Next month, he’ll be chasing a TikTok creator from Auckland who built a following out of “silly car videos” and now finds herself on the grid with a four-time world champion.
For Serage, 30, this is the stuff of fantasy.
“One of my dreams was to meet Max Verstappen, and through this journey it’s all come true,” she said, still processing the scale of it all. “My brain is a bit all over the show – but I’m ready.”
Ready for Verstappen. Ready for Silverstone. Ready for a Disney+ broadcast on September 16 that confirms this is no throwaway stunt.
What began as “Race Mode” clips and playful car content on social media has put her in the middle of a 100-strong field assembled by Red Bull, a grid stacked with athletes, celebrities, creators and fans all tasked with one mission: keep Verstappen in their mirrors and stop him winning.
She will be the only official New Zealand representative in that field, a lone Kiwi flag in a global spectacle, though she will have at least one familiar accent around in New Zealand-born, Australia-based TikTokker Nathan Lust.
The scale of it hasn’t been lost on her.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think ‘Race Mode’ and all my silly car videos would get me in front of Max,” she said. “To see him talking and inviting me? I’m going to keep that video forever.”
From go-karts in East Auckland to Silverstone
The dream has quickly turned into a serious assignment. With less than three weeks until lights out in mid-September, Serage has thrown herself into preparation.
There are no shortcuts here. No stone left unturned.
She headed to Game Over in East Auckland for a crash course in electric go-karts, a stepping stone before she straps into the petrol-powered machinery that awaits her in the UK. Her coach for the day: Daniel Gaunt, a two-time New Zealand Grand Prix winner, former Toyota Racing Series champion and current Supercars driver, who owns and runs the venue.
Alongside Gaunt’s guidance, she has also sought out the wisdom of Kiwi drifting star Mad Mike, adding another layer of local expertise to her rapid education.
“I felt good, Dan from Game Over was giving me tips,” she said after her first proper session. “We did some great laps, I was following behind him and learning apexes.
“I feel more pumped-up and more ready than ever. Electric cars are faster than petrol ones, [but] once I feel the petrol ones, I think I’ll be quite ready.”
The learning doesn’t stop at track level. Back home, she has turned her focus to the nuances of Silverstone itself.
“I’ve done a little bit of preparation. We have a simulator that I’ve set up for Silverstone. That’s going to help me prepare, knowing what I’m looking at when I get there.
“I’ve never been to Silverstone before, this is my first long-haul flight ever.”
First long-haul flight. First time at one of motorsport’s most iconic circuits. First time sharing a track with one of Formula One’s all-time greats. The leap from content creator to competitor could hardly be more dramatic.
Chasing the impossible
And then there is the man she has to try to hold off.
Verstappen, 28, is already in the company of the sport’s giants. Four Formula One drivers’ championships, 71 race wins, 131 podiums in 12 seasons – and a contract with Red Bull that runs until the end of 2030. He spends his weekends dismantling the best professionals on the planet. On paper, a mixed field of non-professional drivers should be little more than a relaxed outing.
Serage knows exactly what she is up against. She isn’t deluded about the scale of the task; she is energised by it.
“There’s qualifying, so my goal is to make it as far as I can in that,” she said, targeting track position as her best weapon.
Start high. Stay there as long as possible. Make Verstappen work for every inch.
“When he does come up – which he will, he’s Max Verstappen – I’m going to try and have a little battle to keep on the driving line and see what I can do.
“I do think he’ll overtake me, that’s inevitable, but I definitely want to have a fun interaction with him.”
That’s the crux of it. Nobody expects her to beat Verstappen. Not really. But there’s a different kind of victory on offer: holding her nerve when the most ruthless racer of his generation fills her mirrors, sticking to the racing line she learned in East Auckland, and turning a social media dream into a wheel-to-wheel memory she’ll carry long after the chequered flag.
The world will tune in to see Verstappen do what he always does. The question now is simple: how long can a creator from Auckland keep the champion behind her before reality – and raw pace – finally surge past?
