Fast and furious teen energises Formula One
It’s been a wild Formula One season for young Max Verstappen.
The talented Dutch teenager has been promoted to Red Bull, become the youngest winner in F1 history and bickered with some of the top teams and drivers in the sport. His aggressive tactics have even prompted a rules clarification.
“Mad Max” i s brash, won’t be intimidated and, to many, he’s a much- needed dose of excitement for Formula One and a future champion. The kid seized on his chance to be fast and famous and won’t let go.
“Why wait?” Verstappen said. “I have a great car, a great team, and I want it all as quickly as possible.”
Verstappen i s squeezing everything he can in to this season as Formula One races this week in Mexico City. At the US Grand Prix in Texas last week, Verstappen provided days of drama worthy of a 19- year- old still learning how to navigate a grownup sport.
By the time drivers got to Austin, several used their Friday meeting to complain about their precocious rival. Having heard similar comments several times this season, Formula One officials i ssued a rule clarification: blocking during braking would be deemed illegal and punished. It took about 10 minutes for the media to call it the “Verstappen Rule.” He shrugged. “Maybe they can get past ( me), now,” Verstappen said.
Conflicts have also flared in the Red Bull garage.
After getting an early warning during the race to save his t yres, Verstappen barked over his car radio that he’s “not here to finish fourth!” A few laps later, he mistakenly went in to a pit stop without a team order. He was out of the race a few laps later with a gearbox problem. Team leadership was not amused. “We have 80 engineers and strategists, but it’s all useless if a driver decides alone to come into the pits,” Red Bull racing consultant Helmut Marko told Autoweek.
Verstappen drives with swagger and a win in Mexico would come on his 20th birthday. His critics have done little damage to his confidence.
“No,” Verstappen said. “I am a grown- up boy.”