“At first, everything is new. Afterwards, the experience makes you more complete,” he says. Max Verstappen. Ten seasons ago, the baby-faced driver revolutionized the paddock of Formula 1. Three days after turning 17, the Dutchman drove for the first time in a car in the top category of world motorsports and sparked a debate, between praise and criticism. The irruption into Great Circus He was not indifferent: because of the performances on the track, because of the vehemence that pushed him to carry out astonishing overcomings and accidents, some spectacular and others avoidable… Also, because it caused a couple of changes in the regulations: Since its arrival, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) has tightened the requirements for a driver to enter F.1 and, later, due to his driving style, the “Verstappen rule” was created., as defined by the magnificent racing director Charlie Whiting. The Japanese Grand Prix, the fourth season of the 2024 calendar and which will begin to take place this Thursday, from 11:30 p.m., with the first of the training sessions, appears emotional and unique for MadMax: He debuted at the Suzuka circuit and became two-time world champion there, eight years later.in the midst of confusion over how the points were distributed in a race that was aborted on lap 28, out of the 53 scheduled, due to rain.
The Red Bull empire gave signals about who it projected as its future star, the talent that would take up the legacy of Sebastian Vettel, four-time champion between 2010 and 2014 with the Milton Keynes team. In August 2014, the television channel Servus, the energy drink brand, presented Verstappen in society.. Clad in a sweatshirt with the colors of the Austrian flag – the nationality of the company’s founder, the late Dietrich Mateschitz – and with his hands in the pockets of his overalls, he shyly answered a couple of questions that served as a prologue to the announcement: would occupy one of the seats at Toro Rosso in the 2015 season. The agitation was beginning to gain strength and it was not until arriving in Japan that the differences were not expressed, between opinions that encouraged the measure and those who disapproved of it.
Verstappen’s first shield was Helmut Marko, the sports advisor and who managed the Red Bull Driver Academy like an iron fist. “Almost everyone called us crazy and failed the promotion. The FIA even acted stupidly and modified the licensing system so that no other driver could debut before reaching the age of majority.”. The Austrian promoted the jump from Formula 3 to F.1, without stopping in F.2. He understood that he had a diamond to polish and could not let him be taken away from him: Toto Wolff, leader of Mercedes, was beginning to be interested, although the Silver Arrows, with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg with multi-year contracts, could not guarantee him a seat. The arguments for the qualitative leap were the feats in the third of the categories of the Great Circus with a highlight: the performance in Nosiring, the urban circuit at the Zeppeling Field in Nuremberg. “After what I saw there, on a wet track, I didn’t think age was relevant. Absolutely. I usually talk to young drivers for 20 to 30 minutes, to get an idea of their personality and the structure that surrounds them. With Max, in Graz (Austria), I spent an hour and a half and my conclusion was that he had the body of a young man with a mentality that was between three and five years more mature.”Marko noted.
Toro Rosso, RBR’s satellite team in F.1, was the best option for everyone: the team, the young star and even the FIA. Jos Verstappen and Max’s agent, Raymond Vermeulen, accepted the proposal and that television presentation was accompanied by an intensive program of private tests at the Rockingham (Great Britain) and Adria (Italy) circuits. When the calendar Great Circus He set the appointment in Suzuka, it was time to teach the skills. “The jump from karts to F.3 was greater than that from F.3 to F.1. I wasn’t worried, although it was my first time driving the cars with the new hybrid power unit and my first time in Suzuka, which is a complicated track to debut on: if you go overboard and exceed the limits, the party is over and you will head headlong into the wall.”, Verstappen recalled over the years.
Max Verstappen’s debut in Formula 1
The timing, pace and consistency of driving, however, had one barrier: age. “I already realized!” he exclaimed in response to the uproar caused by his presence in Japan. “It’s nothing more than a number: if you prepare well there shouldn’t be any problems,” she confessed, smugly. “For me, a 17-year-old driver is too young to debut in F.1, but I could be very wrong“, he opined Daniel Ricciardowhich between 2016 and 2018 would suffer the ambition of MadMax in RBR: he surpassed it in the qualifying tests and in the GP’s. “It is an insult. Does RBR realize that it is putting a child in F.1? I don’t doubt he’s fast, but he’s inexperienced. I came to F.1 when I was 25 years old, after being IndyCar champion. In my father’s time [Gilles] The drivers were considered heroes, now it seems that anyone can drive an F.1 car″he complained Jacques Villeneuvechampion in 1997, in the second of the 11 seasons he returned to the top category.
On the other side there were also big names supporting Verstappen. “I think age is simply a number on the passport. You need to be prepared for the challenge: some are ready at 17 and others at 28. That’s what we don’t know with him. Before speaking we need to see how he does in 2015 and after six or eight races we will be able to say if he is ready or not”, the defense of Fernando Alonsochampion in 2005 and 2006. Who would become monarch in 2014, Nico Rosbergalso gave his support: “It’s great to see that if you have talent and you deserve it, you can reach the elite of this sport.”.
“He is an exceptional talent that appears once every one or two decades. We are not playing Russian roulette by making it debut so soon, we know what we are doing and success will prove us right”, responded Marko, whose predictions are coming true. Verstappen is the youngest driver to debut, score and win in F.1. He is the third with the most wins in history, behind Hamilton and Michael Schumacher; exhibits a three-time championship and the forecast indicates him as a favorite for 2024.
That time, in Japan, he turned 22 times and set the 12th best time. That weekend in 2014, the accident of Frenchman Jules Bianchi (Marussia) shocked F.1, but everyone was warned of the entry of a young man who was destined to modify the course of the Great Circus.
