The Formula One establishment is nervously watching to see how Max Verstappen – too young to drive a car on the roads at home in the Netherlands – handles a 300kph beast on the legendary Suzuka track on Friday.
Some worry that, at 17, the son of F1 veteran Jos Verstappen, is taking a risk. Others are concerned about how big a star the precocious talent is going to become.
The concerns will start as soon as the young Verstappen climbs into a Toro Rosso car to be let loose at Suzuka for a historic session of free practice before Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Verstappen was 16 when he passed his racing driver’s super-licence last month. He was 17 last Tuesday and will become the youngest F1 debutant today.
Jos Verstappen took part in 107 grands prix between 1994 and 2003 in a journeyman career for Benetton, Simtek, Arrows, Tyrrell, Stewart and Minardi.
His career highlights were two podium finishes as Michael Schumacher’s Benetton teammate at the Hungarian and Belgian grands prix.
The elder Verstappen is best known as the driver who survived when his car exploded in a fireball at the 1994 German Grand Prix.
Much more is expected of Max Verstappen, who seems more mature than his years and is already an accomplished Formula Three driver. He is to replace Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne for the morning session today and permanently from next season.
“I am looking forward to taking part in a free practice session at a grand prix for the first time. It’s good preparation for next year, even if it’s not something I could have imagined a few months ago,” Verstappen said. “I have spent one day driving this track on the simulator, which helps a bit.
“But it’s no substitute for driving it for real.”
Vergne, who is hunting for a F1 job for next year, has said little. He knows that Toro Rosso, the sister team to champions Red Bull, is a breeding ground for talent, such as four-time champion Sebastian Vettel. His teammate last year, Australian Daniel Ricciardo, is now at Red Bull and has won three races this year. His current teammate, Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat, is only 20 and has impressed.
Vergne, 24, will return for the afternoon session and aim to record lap times better than those of the Dutch kid who was born at Hasselt, Belgium.
“The world is looking at him – and that’s not a small piece of pressure,” three-time champion Jackie Stewart, 75, told the BBC. “He has been sensational early in his career, but F1 is another story.
“He will face more pressure than a young driver would have been exposed to years ago. I’ve seen some great young drivers come along and the pressure has been too much for them.
“It can go either way.
“It’ll be interesting to see how he adapts to that. There has been so much talk about him and his age. It’s a big ask. Toro Rosso believe they have to give him a shot. If he does that well, he is going to become a young superstar.”
After a successful early career in karts, Verstappen has impressed this year in European F3 with the Van Amersfoort Racing team, winning eight of his 27 races, including six in succession.
The statistics are not enough to impress 1997 champion Jacques Villeneuve, who said Verstappen is too young and the super-licence system is “flawed” if it allows such easy access to the track.
Vettel was 19 years and 53 days when he ran for BMW Sauber in free practice in Turkey in 2006.
Spanish driver Jaime Alguersuari was 19 years and 125 days old when he started the Hungarian Grand Prix in a Torro Rosso in 2009. He only lasted until 2011.
Both records are destined to be smashed.
But Verstappen knows that from today he will be judged only by his speed and not his age.
F1 can be fickle.
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