TikTok Creator Takes on Max Verstappen at Silverstone

Max Verstappen spends most weekends fending off the world’s best racing drivers. Next month, he’ll be trying to hunt down a woman whose “silly car videos” turned into the ride of her life.

Serage, a 30-year-old content creator from Auckland, has gone from filming “Race Mode” clips on TikTok to being hand-picked by Red Bull as New Zealand’s sole representative in a 100-strong field taking on Verstappen at Silverstone. Disney+ will broadcast the event on September 16, a clear sign this is far more than a throwaway stunt.

“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 in disbelief. “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.”

From TikTok to track walk

The scale of the step she is taking is obvious. Silverstone. Verstappen. Cameras everywhere. A 12-time Formula One season veteran with four world titles, 71 grand prix victories and 131 podiums in her mirrors.

Serage will not be alone in the paddock. She will line up alongside a mix of Red Bull athletes, celebrities, fellow creators and fans all tasked with one mission: keep Verstappen behind for as long as humanly possible. New Zealand-born, Australian-based TikTokker Nathan Lust will also be on the grid, but Serage carries the flag as the only Kiwi chosen for the event.

She is treating it like a once-in-a-lifetime call-up. No shortcuts. No coasting on social media fame.

With less than three weeks until the mid-September race, she headed to Game Over in East Auckland to get serious seat time. Out went the phone camera. In came an electric go-kart and a crash course in race craft.

Her tutor? Daniel Gaunt, a two-time New Zealand Grand Prix winner, former Toyota Racing Series champion and Supercars driver, who owns and runs the facility. Kiwi drift star Mad Mike has also weighed in with advice, adding another layer of local expertise to her crash course.

“I felt good, Dan from Game Over was giving me tips,” Serage said after her first practice 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.”

Homework for Silverstone

Behind the scenes, the preparation has already moved beyond karting. Serage has built a simulator setup at home, loaded with Silverstone, to make sure the track layout is etched into her mind before she ever sees it in person.

“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,” she explained.

It will all be new. The circuit. The scale. Even the journey.

“I’ve never been to Silverstone before, this is my first long-haul flight ever.”

The leap from digital to physical is stark. On screen, Verstappen is a highlight reel. In real life, he is the dominant force of his era, tied to Red Bull through to the end of 2030 and still racking up numbers that belong in record books, not on a rival’s prep notes.

Trying to stop him? That borders on absurd. But that is exactly the point of the event – and Serage is leaning into the challenge.

Holding the line against a champion

The Dutchman is expected to slice through a grid of non-professional drivers with the same ruthless efficiency he shows on grand prix Sundays. On paper, it is a mismatch. On track, Serage wants to make him work for every inch.

“There’s qualifying, so my goal is to make it as far as I can in that,” she said, already thinking like a racer. Start high. Stay there as long as possible.

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 is the heart of it. Not the lap times. Not the final result. A TikTok creator who dreamed of meeting Verstappen now has a grid slot, a race suit and a plan: qualify well, hold her nerve, and, for a few corners at least, make the fastest driver in the world fight to get by.