Serage Prepares to Race Max Verstappen at Silverstone
Max Verstappen is coming. And Serage can’t wait.
The 30-year-old Auckland content creator, whose “Race Mode” clips and car skits have built a huge online following, is about to swap phone screens for the full force of Formula One reality. She has been hand-picked by Red Bull as the sole New Zealand representative in a 100-strong field taking on Verstappen in a made-for-Disney+ event at Silverstone on September 16.
One dream has already come true. Meeting Verstappen.
“One of my dreams was to meet Max Verstappen, and through this journey it’s all come true. My brain is a bit all over the show – but I’m ready,” she said, still sounding half-stunned by the speed of it all. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think ‘Race Mode’ and all my silly car videos would get me in front of Max. To see him talking and inviting me? I’m going to keep that video forever.”
This might look like a bit of fun on social media, but Disney+ broadcasting the event underlines the scale. This is a global show. Verstappen is the benchmark. Everyone else is the storyline around him.
Serage won’t be alone from this part of the world. New Zealand-born, Australian-based TikTok creator Nathan Lust will also be on the grid, but she carries the flag as the only official New Zealand pick in the field. The brief is simple: keep Verstappen in her mirrors for as long as humanly possible and make him work for every overtake.
So she’s treating it like a real race.
From TikTok to track walk
With less than three weeks until wheels turn at Silverstone, Serage headed to Game Over in East Auckland to begin the steep climb from creator to competitor. There, she strapped into an electric go-kart for a crash course in racecraft, the first serious step before she climbs into a petrol-powered machine in the UK.
Her coach for the day? Daniel Gaunt – two-time New Zealand Grand Prix winner, former Toyota Racing Series champion and Supercars driver – who owns and operates the venue. If Serage was looking for shortcuts, she came to the wrong place. Every lap, every braking point, every apex mattered.
“I felt good, Dan from Game Over was giving me tips,” she said after her opening 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.”
She’s not relying on one afternoon in a kart, either. Kiwi drifting star Mad Mike has also weighed in with advice, adding another layer of local expertise to her preparation.
Back home, the work continues in front of a screen, but this time it’s not about content – it’s about corners.
“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 racing in an event fronted by a four-time world champion. The jump from online to on-track could hardly be bigger.
Chasing the uncatchable
And then there’s the man she has to try to hold up.
Verstappen, 28, is already deep into all-time-great territory. Four Formula One world drivers’ championships, 71 grand prix victories, 131 podiums across 12 seasons, and a contract with Red Bull that runs through to the end of 2030. His dominance in a field of the world’s best professionals has been ruthless.
Against a grid stacked with non-professional drivers, the expectation is obvious: this should be a stroll.
Serage knows that. She’s not pretending otherwise. Her race, in many ways, starts before his even becomes relevant.
“There’s qualifying, so my goal is to make it as far as I can in that,” she said. The higher she starts, the longer she can defend. The longer she defends, the more this turns from novelty into genuine contest.
Then comes the inevitable moment.
“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 sweet spot for her: part fan, part racer, determined not to simply pull aside when the blue blur fills her mirrors. She wants a fight, however brief. A memory, not just a cameo.
On September 16, under the Silverstone skies and Disney+ cameras, the numbers will be stacked against her. Verstappen will almost certainly win. But for Serage, the real question is different: how long can a dreamer from Auckland hold off the fastest driver in the world when fantasy finally meets the racing line?
