Max Verstappen made on 3 October 2014 his entry in the Formula One racing series by participating for the Torro Rosso racing team in the free practice on Friday of the Grand Prixof Japan.
That a driver is participating in a free practice training might not be that special, but it certainly becomes special if the driver is only 17 years old!
At that age, Max Verstappen is not even allowed to legally drive a car in his home country, The Netherlands! By driving for Torro Rosso in the Friday training, Verstappen is the youngest driver ever to join a Grand Prix – weekend, taking the recordfrom world champion Sebastian Vettel.
The youngster clocked by the way the 12th time of the free practice, only 0.4 seconds slower than his teammate Kvyat.
Max Verstappen – Son of F1 driver Jos Verstappen
Max Verstappen is the son of Sophie and Jos Verstappen. Sophie had a good career in go-karting, while father Jos is a former driver in the Formula One racing series. He participated between 1994 and 2003 in 106 Grand Prix and drove for Benetton, Simtek, Footwork, Tyrrell, Stewart, Arrows and Minardi. During those Grand Prix, he gathered 17 points and claimed twice the third spot.
Max started at a young age in go karts and already soon, the young kid showed he had the racing-DNA of his parents by being very successful on a national and international level.
Max Verstappen and Formula Cars
In 2013, he quit the go karts and starts to race in formula cars. Apparently, the young Dutchman does not have any trouble with the transition to a different race category and on this higher level, the driver also shows his talent. During the first race in a formula race car, he finished third and during the season, he also picks up a number of victories in Formula 3.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull
The talent is noticed by Red Bull (and other race teams),and they contract him and add Max to their training program for young drivers. Soon after that, it appears that Red Bull has ambitious plans for the Dutch teenager, because he is announced as one of the drivers of the Torro Rosso F1 team for the 2015 season, which will make him the youngest driver ever to participate in a Formula One Grand Prix.