Schoolboy racer Verstappen enters Formula One world (video)

02 ตุลาคม 2557

Only 17, at Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix, youngest ever Formula One driver will move from Karts & formula 3 cars to fastest cars on earth.

Dutch driver Max Verstappen prepares ahead of the start of the Zandvoort Masters of Formula 3 in the Netherlands on July 6, 2014

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Schoolboy racer Verstappen worries driving legends

2/10/2014
AFP News agency

SUZUKA (JAPAN) - The Formula One world is nervously watching to see how Max Verstappen -- too young to drive a car on his home Dutch roads -- handles a 300 kilometres (185 miles) an hour Formula One car on the legendary Suzuka track on Friday for a historic session of free practice before Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix.

Some worry that, at 17, the son of Formula One veteran Jos Verstappen, is taking a risk at a tender age. Others are concerned though about how big a star the precocious talent is going to become.

Verstappen was only 16 when he passed his racing driver's super-licence last month. He was 17 on Tuesday and on Friday will become the youngest ever Formula One debutant.... joining the Toro Rosso team, the sister team to champions Red Bull, a breeding ground for talent.

...His father Jos Verstappen is best known as the driver who survived when his car exploded in a fireball at the 1994 German Grand Prix.

Much more is expected of Max Verstappen, already an accomplished Formula Three driver....

"I am looking forward to taking part in a free practice session at a Grand Prix for the first time ...I have spent one day driving this track on the simulator, which helps a bit, but it's no substitute for driving it for real," said Verstappen, a remarkably mature adolescent.

- Apprentice Superstar -

..."The world is looking at him - and that's not a small piece of pressure," three-time champion Jackie Stewart, now 75, told the BBC. "He has been sensational early in his career, but F1 is another story."

"He will face more pressure than a young driver would have been exposed to years ago. I've seen some great young drivers come along and the pressure has been too much for them. It can go either way.

"It'll be interesting to see how he adapts to that. There has been so much talk about him and his age. It's a big ask. Toro Rosso believe they have to give him a shot. If he does that well, he is going to become a young superstar."

After a successful early career in karts, Verstappen has impressed this year in European Formula Three ... winning eight of his 27, including six in succession...

...Verstappen knows that from Friday he will be only be judged by his speed and not his age. Formula One can be fickle.