Max Verstappen A Winner in Japan Again; A Look at His Rookie Cards
![[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] April 6, 2025; Suzuka, JAPAN; Max Verstappen celebrates after winning the F1 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Issei Kato/Reuters via Imagn Images](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_105,w_2546,h_1432/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/si_collects/01jr6nvht35ez0sy7qk2.jpg "[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] April 6, 2025; Suzuka, JAPAN; Max Verstappen celebrates after winning the F1 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Issei Kato/Reuters via Imagn Images")
Max Verstappen won his first race of the 2025 Formula One season, putting to bed any notion that he is ready to relinquish his throne. Verstappen, the four-time defending world champion, is already considered one of F1's greats. His four straight world titles are tied with three other drivers for second-most all-time, just behind Michael Schumacher's five. His four overall titles are tied for third all-time with two different drivers.
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However, Verstappen isn't one of the sport's most popular figures. Among his fellow drivers, he is considered overly aggressive and unnecessarily aggressive. Fans of other drivers perceive him as a cold and detached champion. Yet, there's no denying his greatness. For the past two seasons, Verstappen has been considered the best driver in the best race car. This season, he's showing he can be the best driver without having the best car.
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Verstappen's rookie card can be found in the iconic 2020 Topps Chrome F1 set. While his prices have remained relatively flat over the past three months, Verstappen has seen a rise in his card prices since mid-January, according to Card Ladder.
Verstappen's base image in PSA 10 last sold for $177.50. The base PSA 10 has a 1,352 population. Verstappen's refractor in PSA 9, with a 215 population, last sold for $167.50. A PSA 10 sold for $512, but the refractor has a combined population of 473, making it about 1/3 as populous as his base PSA 10.
F1 collectors really dig the variations, and it's usually in the high-grade variations that one would see the greatest amount of interest. One card to consider would be Verstappen's image variation, also card No. 6. Verstappen's Sapphire image variation in PSA 10 sells for about $600 and has a low population of 181. However, his Sapphire image variation in PSA 9 last sold for $271.40 and has a population of 117.
Verstappen's base image variation is even rarer in terms of population count. His base PSA 10 image variation sells for more than $4,000. PSA 9s sell for about $600, down from $800 in mid-January. The PSA 8 version, population 50 with only 125 graded higher, last sold for $345 in July 2024.
Consider that if Verstappen were to win his fifth consecutive world title, he'd be tied for first all-time with Schumacher for most consecutive titles. He'd also move to second place all-time with the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio for most world titles, behind only Lewis Hamilton and Schumacher. One could do worse than place a bet on a four-time world champion in the prime of his career.
Max running to his team 🥹❤️pic.twitter.com/MsOLSYx8CU
— Verstappen News (@verstappenews) April 6, 2025
Horacio is an avid sports card collector and writes about trending card auctions and news across several major hobby sites, including Sports Collectors Daily and Collectibles on SI.
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