SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium -- McLaren junior driver Dries van Langendonck has been signed by Max Verstappen's management company with the aim of helping the 15-year-old Belgian make it to Formula 1.
Van Langendonck became part of McLaren's driver development programme in July 2024 after winning seven championship titles in karting.
He made his Formula 4 debut at the end of the 2025 season and is currently leading the British F4 championship with four victories to his name from 15 races.
Thursday's announcement confirmed van Langendonck will receive "support and guidance" from four-time champion Verstappen while remaining part of McLaren's junior programme.
"Dries has been a big talent for a long time already in go-karting and I think you can spot quite quickly when someone is a little bit more special than someone else," Verstappen said at Spa-Francorchamps ahead of this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.
"I think that has carried on with what he's doing right now in Formula 4, and that's why I think it's just very exciting to try and help him, guide him, of course, hand in hand from the McLaren side as well, to make the right decisions for his future.
"I mean, he wants to get to Formula 1 and I'm just trying to make sure that will happen in the future. And yes, it's honestly a very exciting project to be part of."
Verstappen, who races for Red Bull in F1, said van Langendonck speed in the simulator had already impressed him.
"He's very good for a 15-year-old," he added. "From what I compared myself when I was 15, he's very, very good at the simulator."
The traditional route to F1 sees drivers progress from karting via Formula 4, Formula 3 and Formula 2.
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Some drivers choose to skip a step, such as championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who opted to go straight from Formula Regional to F2 before making his F1 debut with Mercedes in 2025.
Verstappen's career is among the most remarkable on the current grid after spending just one season in the previous iteration of F3 before making his F1 race debut at just 17 years of age in 2015.
The four-time world champion said he would be involved in ensuring van Langendonck makes the right steps at the right time.
"The goal, like I said before, is Formula 1, so we're just going to try and help him achieve that by making hopefully the right calls and decisions in terms of where he has to race, what he has to do, help him on the simulator side as well, and just trying to give him more and more experience," Verstappen added.
"He's only 15, so there's a lot still to learn, but luckily, I think in terms of raw speed, that's there, you can see it."