Max Verstappen
It seemed from day one that Max Verstappen was destined to become the big story of the junior single-seater market of 2014. Brutally quick in everything he tested and a race-winner in his debut campaign in the Florida Winter Series, he was long expected to move to Formula Renault 2.0 as a title favorite amids tons of hype.
Instead, he put the pen to paper on a Van Amersfoort Racing contract in FIA European F3. It was a huge call, highly ambitious and almost disrespectful, making Verstappen’s handlers seem out of touch. Sure, he bossed karting and won two races against the likes of Fuoco and Marciello in FWS, but F3’s a different level, hardly suited for single-seater entrants.
But then pre-season started and it became instantly clear that the Dutchman was not out of his depth, comfortably placing among the frontrunners session after session. When the racing kicked off, it took Verstappen one round to make it to the podium and two to claim a first win.
Crashes, car issues and penalties denied him points for four consecutive races in the next two rounds, but then came Spa and Norisring, where he won a stunning six races in a row. Just a week later, he easily wrapped up the prestigious Zandvoort Masters event.
Three more wins would be to come over the rest of the campaign and, while an engine failure gave him ten-place grid drops during three races at Nurburgring and Imola, he made it back on the podium in two of those. And those heroics took place well after his Scuderia Toro Rosso deal was confirmed.
Yes, he’s still very ragged, having been involved in his fair share of silly crashes during the European F3 season and throwing away his shot at Macau Grand Prix into the wall, but that can be ironed out and hopefully will be during his rookie year in F1.
?Who does he think he is?? the public might be wondering as the Dutchman gears up to make his F1 debut at 17. But that’s what the attitude was earlier this year and, well, look at how that turned out.
Valentin Khorounzhiy