Verstappen Was 'Half To Two Seconds Faster' Than Anyone Else Already When He Was 16
F1Sunday, 31 December 2023 at 21:00
Retiring Toro Rosso/ AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost remembered seeing Max Verstappen sitting in the F1 car for the first time.
Toro Rosso used to be Red Bull's junior team, and being team principal of the Italian team, Franz Tost worked with many talented drivers in his career.
However, he remembered that when he saw Max Verstappen in an F1 car for the first time, he instantly knew the Dutchman had tremendous potential. As quoted by BBC, he said:
"I remember Max at the Norisring [circuit in Germany] at 16 years old. It was wet, and he was one and a half to two seconds faster than anyone else. I said all other drivers should give back their licences, the only driver in this field is Max Verstappen."
The former team principal was so impressed with Verstappen he decided the Dutchman should do an FP1 session for his F1 team during the Japanese Grand Prix.
It was considered quite a bold move as no driver before Verstappen had participated in a Grand Prix weekend at such a young age. Moreover, Suzuka Circuit is considered one of the most challenging in the F1 calendar.
"We decided he would do FP1 in Suzuka [at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix] and journalists said: 'You are totally crazy… Suzuka is one of the most dangerous tracks; how can you start him in FP1? He has to be prepared.'"
While many doubted the Dutchman back in 2014, 10 years later, we all know how genius Franz Tost was for recognizing triple World Champions talent.
"I said: 'Don't talk so much, let's discuss in five years, then we will see who was right - you or me?' It didn't take five years - immediately, from the first year."
The 67-year-old said he could spot similarities between Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel, which reassured him in the decision-making. He also mentioned other successful drivers that we can see on the F1 grid today as he added:
"And it was the same with Vettel - both of them had similar approaches, similar attitudes. It was fantastic to work together with these drivers… [Daniel] Ricciardo, [Carlos] Sainz, and [Pierre] Gasly - all are high-class drivers with a lot of potential in them.
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