From TikTok to Racing Against Max Verstappen
The first time Serage pointed her phone at a car and hit record, she wasn’t thinking about Silverstone. Or Disney+. Or Max Verstappen in her mirrors.
She was just making “silly car videos”.
Now those clips have dragged her into a very different world.
From TikTok to taking on a titan
The 30-year-old from Auckland has been chosen by Red Bull as the sole New Zealand representative in a 100-strong field set to race against Verstappen, with the event to be broadcast on Disney+ on September 16. She won’t be short of company – New Zealand-born, Australian-based TikTok creator Nathan Lust will also be there – but the spotlight sits squarely on her.
“One of my dreams was to meet Max Verstappen, and through this journey it’s all come true,” she said, still trying to process what’s coming. “My brain is a bit all over the show – but I’m ready.”
Ready, but very aware of how surreal it all is.
“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 isn’t a throwaway fan experience. Red Bull have built a full-blown event around their superstar, with athletes, celebrities, creators and fans all trying, in theory, to do one thing: stop Max Verstappen winning.
Good luck with that.
Crash course before the real thing
Serage is determined not to arrive as just another content creator along for the ride. With less than three weeks before wheels turn in mid-September, she headed to Game Over in East Auckland for a crash course in electric go-karting before stepping up to the real machinery.
Her tutor? Daniel Gaunt – two-time New Zealand Grand Prix winner, former Toyota Racing Series champion and Supercars driver – who owns and runs the venue. On top of that, Kiwi drift star Mad Mike has also weighed in with advice.
“I felt good, Dan from Game Over was giving me tips,” she said after her first serious 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 kart laps alone. At home, a simulator is locked onto one circuit: Silverstone.
“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 laps at one of motorsport’s cathedrals. First time sharing a track with a driver already etched into Formula One history.
Nothing about this is small.
Facing the benchmark
On the other side of this story stands Verstappen, the 28-year-old Dutch phenomenon whose numbers already belong to a different era. Four world drivers’ championships, 71 grand prix victories, 131 podiums in 12 seasons – and a contract that runs until the end of 2030.
Put simply, he is the standard.
Against a grid loaded with non-professionals, Verstappen should slice through the field like a hot knife. Serage knows that. Everyone knows that. The question isn’t whether he wins. It’s how long anyone can keep him behind.
Her mission is modest but ambitious in its own way: qualify as high as possible, then make him work for the inevitable.
“There’s qualifying, so my goal is to make it as far as I can in that,” she said. “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 heart of it. Not bravado, not trash talk. A creator who built a following from behind a phone, now strapping into a car in front of a global audience, hoping to hold off one of the greatest drivers of his generation for as long as her skills – and nerve – will allow.
Soon enough, the simulator will be switched off, the phone put away, and the lights at Silverstone will go out.
Then we find out how far a dream, a crash course, and a fearless attitude can carry someone when Max Verstappen fills the mirrors.
