Max Verstappen has achieved a lot of success on the F3 track and is showing confidence when facing a much bigger challenge from the 2015 racing season.
Verstappen won’t turn 17 until next September, but was brought in by the Toro Rosso team to replace Jean-Éric Vergne from the 2015 F1 racing season. In his home country of the Netherlands, he even had to wait until he was 18 years old. You are allowed to drive on the road, and only at the age of 19 do you have the right to own your own car.
The special point in Verstappen’s case is not that he revealed his talent early. Established racers like Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel also had their talent discovered at a very young age. What’s different about the young Dutch talent is that he is completely ready to face the challenges and dangers of the world’s most complex speed sport. He is not afraid to compete with experienced stars on the F1 track who are twice his age, such as Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button (both 34 years old), two-time world champion Fernando. Alonso and Felipe Massa (both 33 years old).
Max Verstappen seems to be born for speed sports. Photo: F1.
“I think the biggest step in my career is moving from kart racing to F3. For me, moving from F3 to F1 is just a short step,” Verstappen said. “I have no concerns about participating in the F1 race. Racing cars are designed to be completely safe. I think cycling in a big city is even more dangerous than F1 racing. Right from the start At the age of seven, I considered racing Formula One a career goal. Therefore, racing for Toro Rosso in F1 season 2015 was a dream come true for me. I and the people involved had to do It’s been hard work to get to F1, so I will continue to try my best to conquer the pinnacle of this speed sport.”
The son of former F1 driver Jos Verstappen currently continues to compete in Formula 3, at the European Championship. This is the first year the younger Verstappen competed in F3, but he has proven his talent with 8 race wins, 5 starting positions, and 13 podium appearances, thereby placing him at the top of the podium. Second place in the rankings after 27 races.
5 youngest riders
1. Jaime Alguersuari (Spain, 19 years and 125 days). First F1 race: Hungarian GP 2009 (15th place)2. Mike Thackwell (New Zealand, 19 years, and 182 days). First race: Canadian GP 1980 (abandoned midway)3. Ricardo Rodríguez (Mexico, 19 years and 208 days). First race: 1961 Italian GP (abandoned midway)4. Fernando Alonso (Spain, 19 years and 218 days). First race: Australian GP 2001 (12th position)5. Esteban Tuero (Argentina, 19 years and 320 days). First race: 1998 Australian GP (abandoned midway)
* Max Verstappen celebrated his 17th birthday on September 30, 2014
Before retiring in 2003, the senior Verstappen was considered the most successful Dutch F1 driver, even though his best achievement was only two appearances on the podium after 107 races. Therefore, Max Verstappen wants to replace his father and complete the dream of winning that has never come true. “With the return of the name Verstappen on the F1 racetrack, I hope to revive old memories. I want to see many fans supporting me at Grand Prix from next season.”
Max Verstappen has participated and competed successfully in a number of stepping stone events, so he is completely eligible to be granted a racing license by the FIA in F1 from next season. But is this a risky gamble for Toro Rosso?
Before signing a contract with the 16-year-old Dutch talent, this racing team also achieved initial success with another young star, Daniil Kvyat. This 20-year-old Russian racer is the rookie that has attracted the most attention this year’s racing season, especially after becoming the youngest driver to win points at an F1 race. He is expected to soon join one of the top racing teams.
25-year-old racer Daniel Ricciardo is also making a strong impression with third place on the scoreboard, but before shining with Red Bull in this year’s racing season, he was a member of Toro Rosso for four years.
Kevin Magnussen, also only 21 years old, is having a difficult season racing with a car that lacks competitiveness. But he is still considered a promising talent by the McLaren team and his opponents.
Moreover, the trend of rejuvenation is actually not too new in the F1 racing village. The average age of the starting drivers at the Australian Grand Prix in March this year was less than 27 years old, the youngest since the F1 world championship began in 1950. The same farewells in 2012 of Michael Schumacher and Pedro de la Rosa (both over 40 years old) have contributed to a sharp decrease in the average age of this race.
Max always has his father Jos – a former F1 driver – by his side.
F1 is also not a rare sport that follows the rejuvenation trend. However, even though today’s F1 races have become much safer than before, experts are still concerned about the leap in development and signs of burning a stage in Max Verstappen’s career. .
However, Franz Tost, Toro Rosso racing team director, said that Verstappen is “one of the outstanding young drivers of the new generation.” He also emphasized: “We believe that he has matured. necessary and enough mental strength to cope with the upcoming challenges. This year’s F3 racing season he has proven his excellent ability to adapt to difficult situations. Our mission now is to make every effort to provide Verstappen with a highly competitive car, to give him the best possible start to his F1 career.”
Marcus Simmons, commentator for Autosport newspaper, who watched Verstappen race in the European F3 championship, also commented: “Max is one of the most watchable drivers of the young generation. I don’t dare to rate him as The best driver, but every time he races, the atmosphere at the racetrack is electric. The way Verstappen drives an F3 race car is as captivating as when you watch a young person show off his talent in controlling a bicycle. BMX terrain”.
As of before the 2015 racing season, the youngest driver to participate in F1 was Jaime Alguersuari, at just 19 years and 125 days old.
