The ultimate dream of every racer – a seat in Formula 1 – did not materialize, but Robin Frijns no longer suffers from this. As of 2025, his schedule is still packed, although the 33-year-old from Limburg knows very well that there is also a life beside and especially after competitive sports. The racer as an entrepreneur, with his girlfriend Maike Frik by his side, whom he is marrying this year.
His logo prominently adorns the entrance of the business premises that Robin Frijns runs in Lanaken, just across the Belgian border near Maastricht. A paradise for those fortunate enough to afford to have their car transformed into a personal gem. Whether it’s tuning, styling, or applying the now popular paint protection film (PPF), you can get it at Frijns Unlimited.
The reception area leaves little doubt about who the owner is. On the wall hangs a series of framed overalls, starting with those from his karting days. Like many later top racers, Frijns is a devotee of the GKS team, which is based at the well-known karting track in Genk. “Look,” says Frijns with some pride, “a real signature from Michael Schumacher.”
The fact that the signature of the seven-time world champion adorns Frijns’ children’s overall is thanks to Paul Lemmens. The founder of the karting track in Genk called Mr. Frijns one day when Jos Verstappen and Michael Schumacher, good friends in the 90s, were doing laps on the track in Belgian Limburg. “I went there with my father and was very proud to get a signature from Michael on my overall.”
Unpleasant Memory
The collection of framed overalls in the entrance mainly illustrates Frijns’ initially very successful career, with the highlight being the championship in the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 Series, then the gateway to Formula 1. The Fortec overall is flanked by a Red Bull one. A reminder of the days when Frijns’ planned racing career took an unexpected turn due to out-of-context statements by the racer about the personnel politics of Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko. An episode in itself that has often been widely discussed.
But it characterizes Frijns that he does not want to erase this unpleasant memory from his curriculum vitae. “Of course I wanted it then, but whether I would have been happy in Formula 1 in retrospect, I don’t know. You lose a lot of freedom. I can still easily enjoy a terrace on the Vrijthof. Max Verstappen doesn’t have to try that.”Frijns is proud of what he has accomplished in Lanaken as a young entrepreneur, but he is quick to mention that it is primarily his team that deserves the accolades. “I’m not here that often, with my busy schedule. The fact that I’m hardly ever called when I’m out racing indicates that the business is in good hands with my girlfriend and the men who work here every day.”
Racing is still priority number one in Robin Frijns’ life, but the coronavirus pandemic prompted a change in thinking. “During the pandemic, I was initially at home for months on end. That drove me crazy. I started thinking: ‘What am I going to do when I stop racing? What will my life look like then?’ I know some guys from the football world here in Maastricht, who after twenty years of football also wondered: ‘And now what?”
**Maastricht**
It was during this period that Frijns bought a second-hand Ferrari. “I wanted to pimp it up, but where? Yes, in the Randstad, but I didn’t want that. That’s how the idea came about and I thought: ‘Perhaps there is a market for it here’. In this area, Maastricht and just across the border, there is quite a bit of money and people often drive nice, expensive cars. But I wanted something decent. It had to be top-notch, like I’m used to from racing where everything in the garages is neatly in its place and you can practically eat off the floor. That’s what I wanted to create.”
However, a problem soon arose for Frijns. The Limburger was swamped with work during the start-up phase of his business, but racing had also resumed. “Then everything fell on Maike. She worked at Abt and quit her job there. A lot of pressure was put on her and it was not an easy time. In the meantime, she has formed a team around her and everything is running smoothly, but without her, I would never have gotten this off the ground.
No Compromises
The company’s slogan is ‘You dream it, we build it’, reflecting Frijns’ inherent drive for perfection. “We work with high-end cars here. We don’t deliver shoddy work. We only collaborate with top-tier brands. Everything must be top-notch. It’s not cheap, but you don’t fob off someone with a two hundred thousand euro car with junk. I want to reach the highest level. What I struggle with is patience. It’s in my nature. In racing, problems are solved immediately. In business, things take longer, you often have to wait. I’m also very direct. That’s necessary in racing, but in business, you have to consider others more,” he explains.
Living as a young entrepreneur with all its responsibilities and advancing age, Frijns feels he has entered a new phase of life. “Ten years ago, it was all about racing and winning. It’s not that racing has become less important as I’ve aged, but other things have become more important. Maike and I are getting married this year and we would also like to have children. We are building something together,” he shares.
Good Sleeping Pills
Frijns leads a busy life, with racing still taking precedence. “Until I’m forty. At least, as long as it’s going well. Physically, that won’t be a problem, but mentally, you might become a bit less consistent. But for now, I’m still competing in two or three championships. There’s a lot of travel, but I manage well. I get through the jet lags with good sleeping pills. The passion is still there. After three weeks at home, I always get that feeling of ‘When can we go again?'”
Frijns’ private life mainly unfolds in Switzerland, specifically in Kreuzlingen on Lake Constance. “That’s home base, an hour’s drive from Maike’s parents. It’s a beautiful environment where we currently live in an apartment, but we’re also building something new. That will be the place where we want to spend most of our time for now, although I will certainly continue commuting to here, near Maastricht. And once I’ve stopped racing, I see myself spending a lot of time in Limburg,” he concludes.
