max to drive FP1 in Suzuka :)
Max has done exceptionally well so far and experts obviously see something in him. Remember that he is honed by his father since he was four. My nephew (three times national champion) used to race against him and the technical backing was huge, comparable to F1 (multiple engines all blueprinted to the max, pun intended, and so on). Still, all the right material doesn't get you anywhere if you don't have what it takes. Max has shown that he can do great things, for example adapting from shiftless to shift karts, or being 2 seconds faster than the field in difficult circumstances in a single seater. It could be that his competition is really bad and make him look good. I doubt that though, not in multiple classes. The negativity is hopefully directed towards Marko putting too much pressure on Max, not because of Max himself. I wish him all the best and hope that he will be the real deal. It happened in MotoGP with Marquez and has happened with Vettel before in F1 (or Schumacher, or Senna).
First practice went fine. Max took it easy, according to him, and finished FP1 0.443 behind Kvyat, in 12th place. Vergne did only very marginally better in FP2. Considering his lack of experience with track and car, I think it is highly impressive. Onno
Very much so! I still think Marko's an idiot, but that's another debate. Max on Max; I guess it won't be long before the peanut gallery starts demanding that he should replace Kimi or Fred...... Cheers, Ian
I agree. There is talent there but we just don't know how much it is or where it will go, so let's not compare Max to anyone since he hasn't actually done anything yet. Onno
Surely that was self evident, we were talking about comparisons with Formula 1 champions. But you are right, of course. Onno
Interesting that he's already talking too much... head of his debut season with Toro Rosso next year, Red Bull protégée Max Verstappen has said the focus on mental strength in Formula One is "bull****". Verstappen started his F1 career at just 17-years-old earlier this month when he drove a Toro Rosso during Friday practice for the Japanese Grand Prix. With just one year's experience in F3 under his belt, he will have a full race drive in F1 next year but says the pressure of racing at the top level of motorsport is not an issue. "I have no problems at all with [mental strength]," he told Red Bull's website. "I'm really relaxed and I don't want to think about mental stress, or how strong you are mentally because, to be honest, I find it a bit bull****," Verstappen finished third in this season's European F3 championship after first testing an F3 car in August 2013. Up until that point he had been racing go-karts full time, but he said he adapted to the step up to proper racing cars quickly. "Of course before you jump in the car you don't know what to expect. But after I did a few laps, I started to feel comfortable. You start to feel the limits a bit. It's completely different to go karts. I mean, the braking pedal, the throttle application, how you sit in the car, the view. That was the main difference really. But from the beginning we were quite fast, so I adapted quite well." Read more at Focus on mental strength is bulls*** - Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | Formula 1 news, live F1 | ESPN F1
I see his point but he should not be saying much right now and show results and integration into the team and systems. Poor headwork. He was also beaten to the F3 title this year by Ocon. Why doesnt Ocon have a seat??? Im sorry but he is but a teenager and not at all ready for F1 in a mental sense. He is a child who cannot hold a drivers license. He appears to be lacking management and humility already.
Well, each way you turn it, Formula 1 is in all aspects a world for grown ups. If I look back at the time when I was 17, I had a lot of growing up to do. Sure, you can be very gifted at driving a Formula 1 car, but then there's the rest. And having made the step, or the leap, from karting to Formula 1 through Formula 3 without clinching the F3-title, he could very well become the best driver to never win a championship.
I think the comment about 'mental strength is bullsiht' sounds like something a teenager would say. Mental strength is all about how well you can maintain your focus in the midst of craziness and pressure. Can you keep it together when everything isn't going right? I think he should heed your advice and focus more on "doing" than "saying" at this point. I'm not saying he won't be "the next Ayrton", but early in his career, Ayrton did ALL of his talking on the Tarmac. He was a revelation, while Max at this point is just a prediction.
Yes completely agree. Also as a public speaker now he should watch the tounge a bit early on until he has things to swear about lol!!
Makes himself sound like a big headed go karter - oh right, that's what he is. The kid will make himself look like a total prat next year, and helmut will have to backtrack on his words. What a pair of tools The kid barely looks 12, let alone 16, I just hope nobody gets hurt while he is let loose with a proper race car, it's a 200mph accident waiting to happen
Be interesting to see how these 2 compare in F1 once Ocon is able to gain a seat. Beat Verstappen to the F3 title this year. Seemes to have impressed Lotus and Ferrari. European F3 champion Esteban Ocon impresses in Ferrari F1 test By Jonathan Noble Thursday, October 30th 2014, 09:07 GMT European Formula 3 champion Esteban Ocon impressed Ferrari during a Formula 1 test at Fiorano on Wednesday, just a week after Lotus said he was exceptional. As a prize for his title success this year, the Frenchman was given a day's running at Ferrari's test track in a four-year old F10. Head of Ferrari's Driver Academy Luca Baldisserri could not hide his delight at what he had seen. "It's always very exciting for us engineers to be there when a young driver gets behind the wheel of a Ferrari Formula 1 car for the first time," he said. "Even if we are used to working with rookies, it's a real surprise to see someone to take to the track showing a level of professionalism as demonstrated by Esteban today. "Despite it being his first time in one of our cars, he tackled the test without making any mistakes and was quick right from the start. "It's not an easy task, especially on an emotional level, because I reckon that driving a Ferrari is a dream for anyone who wants to be a professional racing driver and we hope that today's good results are a good sign for his future." Ocon earned great praise from Lotus last week after a test at Valencia in a 2012 car last week, his first experience of F1 machinery. European F3 champion Esteban Ocon impresses in Ferrari F1 test - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com
All this only proves that f.1 cars ae getting to easy to drive and not much more demanding than an f r 3.5
Indeed. Give him Senna's car and see what he does. Hi might not even know how to drive a manual. Ha ha.