Max Verstappen is Red Bull’s golden boy and the team’s second best hope for a world title. Even though Verstappen has been in Formula 1 for seven years, he is only 23 years old. He could already be considered a veteran on the grid.
Verstappen got his chance in Formula 1 at a young age. The Dutchman was a highly valued candidate, and Red Bull didn’t want to lose the youngster to a rival team.
How old was Max Verstappen when he made his Formula 1 debut?
In 2015, Toro Rosso announced that a young 17-year-old was replacing Daniil Kvyat, who had been promoted to Red Bull. At only 17 years and 166 days, Max Verstappen became the youngest debutant in Formula 1 history.
Max Verstappen made an immediate impression on his debut with Toro Rosso. The Dutchman made it into Q2 and eventually qualified in a respectable P12, one place ahead of Daniil Kvyat’s Red Bull.
For Verstappen, however, the race was mixed. After a great start, Verstappen was in the top 10 and in a points position. But on lap 34 the Renault engine went up in flames behind his Toro Rosso and Max had to give up his debut race.
Verstappen did not have to wait long for his first points in Formula 1. At the next race in Malaysia, Verstappen finished seventh, making him the youngest Formula 1 points driver of all time – a record that still stands today.
Red Bulls next world champion?
Now at Red Bull, Max Verstappen has been the Austrian team’s best hope for a world championship since Sebastian Vettel in 2013. 2021 seems like the best opportunity for Verstappen and Red Bull as the team has a superior car than their rival Mercedes. Red Bull overqualified the reigning champions and also showed a better race pace, which no team in the turbo-hybrid era was able to do.
Fans from the Netherlands are certainly positive that this could be the year Formula 1 crowns a Dutch champions for the first time.
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