AFTERBURN

Forward only.

Self-initiated / unofficial portfolio concept

The challenge for AFTERBURN was to create a different kind of athlete website: an experience with a recognisable spatial idea, rather than another long sequence of hero, statistics and chapters. Max Verstappen’s portrait had to remain central while the interface carried a sense of forward momentum.

The solution is an original architecture of blades and apertures. Carbon surfaces, cold metal and incandescent orange frame a real photograph at the far end of the scene. Opening the menu changes the camera and reconfigures the same structure into four destinations. The entrance and navigation therefore belong to one world. It is a visual interpretation, not a car model, aerodynamic study or telemetry simulation.

The six-page site expands that world through several editorial rhythms. The Reign connects four historical title years to their stories. Instinct explores three documented racing moments. After Hours opens a different context through sourced sim-racing material, while Frames becomes the photographic archive. Each section has its own selection behaviour and composition, with native page links providing a direct route through the experience.

The photography is handled as evidence with a context, not as interchangeable racing atmosphere. A wet Spa photograph remains labelled as Spa when used alongside a Brazil story. The main portrait records a 2024 second-place ceremony, not a victory. Ten originals can be explored with their dates, creators, sources and licences intact.

My role included concept development, art direction, information architecture, interaction design and development, with AI assistance in research and implementation. The static build uses HTML, CSS and JavaScript ES modules with a self-hosted Three.js engine. Barlow Condensed and Manrope, photographs and the engine are served locally with the site. There are no automatic external requests or analytics in the runtime.

Motion can be paused and the setting persists. Reduced-motion, no-WebGL and no-JavaScript alternatives preserve access to the core material. The recorded validation covers six pages at desktop and emulated mobile widths, keyboard navigation, menu focus, story selectors, the gallery and actual WebGL rendering and pause behaviour. Those observations do not constitute a physical-phone test, screen-reader review or WCAG certification.

AFTERBURN is published as a self-initiated, unofficial portfolio concept. It demonstrates how navigation can become part of a distinctive visual identity without losing direct access to content. No business-performance study or athlete endorsement is claimed. Photographs retain their individual Creative Commons licences, and the original graphic social card contains no third-party photograph.

Explore the live website · Photography, sources and licences