Let’s meet... Max Verstappen

The 16-year-old son of former Formula 1 driver Jos Verstappen secured a podium in the third round of the first race weekend of the season, at Silverstone.

Max Verstappen (Van Amersfoort Racing) secured the CIK-FIA Karting World Championship title, last year – to afterwards advance to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, for the 2014 season. And by securing a podium in the third round of the first race weekend of the season, at Silverstone, the 16-year-old son of former Formula 1 driver Jos Verstappen demonstrated that he has got what it takes to successfully cope with this big step.

What’s your conclusion after the first race weekend of the season? The first race didn’t run the way I hoped it would. I had clutch problems right from the start and in addition, I was involved in a collision. Race two was rather okay and I could be pleased with having finished fifth. In race three, however, things went even better: I made a good start and could battle it out for the top positions right away. And it goes without saying that I was delighted with having finished second.
How did your FIA Formula 3 European Championship involvement come about? After all, you just advanced from karting to car racing…

The original plan was to race in Formula Renault 2.0.

Podium: second place Max Verstappen

Photo by: XPB Images

But then I was offered the chance of testing a Formula 3 single-seater and the car was just great. It produces more grip than a Formula Renault car and therefore, its cornering speed is higher. Driving it was just more fun and in addition, I wasn’t exactly slow. And why I opted for the FIA Formula 3 European Championship? Well, this series offers me the chance of contesting many races – three races on each of the 11 race weekends. These 33 races will allow me to gather a lot of experience. And this experience will be crucial if I want to work my way up on the motor-racing ladder.

Source : Motorsport.com