Frits van Amersfoort optimistic regarding Max' F1 debut
Published on 20 August 2014 by Stefan Meens
Max Verstappen is currently in his first full season in single seater racing. The 16-year-old Dutchman did not need a lot of time adjusting after switching from karts into motorsports. In only his second race weekend in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, the youngster claimed his first victory. Thus far, he added another seven wins to his tally.
Frits van Amersfoort, Max Verstappen’s team boss in European F3, therefore thinks Max will hit the ground running in his rookie F1 year. “I was a little bit surprised when I first heard the news that Max will make his F1 debut next year but I think it’s amazing”, says Van Amersfoort who knew for a while before the official announcement that his star driver would make the jump onto the F1 grid in 2015.
Frits downplays his team’s input in Max’ short but successful motorsports career. “We are not going to big us up as we’ve only been working with Max since March. Of course we are proud that we’ve been able to help Max along in his first season in motorsport but it’s really all down to Max’ talent.”
The veteran team owner continues: “Jos really developed Max’ talent. He showed great skills in karting but it’s always interesting to see how skills and talent transfer over from karts into single seaters. But you can’t conclude anything other than that Max’ raw speed and skills manifests themselves even more in cars.”
When Max makes his Formula 1 debut at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix, he will be the youngest ever F1 driver. Frits van Amersfoort does not think Max’ youth is a disadvantage. “Obviously I can’t predict the future but seventeen isn’t necessary too young. Max is an extraordinary guy when it comes to mental toughness. He always remains calm and collective. Besides that, he is an incredible racing driver.”
Van Amersfoort is interested to see how Max will fare in a bigger F1 team. “Im glad Max signed with Scuderia Toro Rosso. The team has more of a family feel to it, as opposed to most English teams. Furthermore, team boss Franz Tost knows the Verstappens as he came across Jos in the past. I genuinely believe that’s an important advantage for Max as he will enter a team that will provide him with close support.”
Over the past few months, Van Amersfoort has had an excellent opportunity to judge where Verstappen junior’s strength lies. “Max is such a great driver because he knows exactly where to find more speed. That’s a crucial skill to have in racing as a tenth can make a huge difference. Young, inexperienced drivers often struggle to feel where there is more time to be gained but Max has an incredible talent in this area.”
As always, expectations are high in Formula 1. Max’ experienced team boss does not think that the increased pressure on drivers in F1 will influence the Dutchman. “I don’t think Max will struggle. In fact, I don’t think he’ll see it as pressure. He always remains calm, which is fantastic to observe. Furthermore, he has the perfect advisor in his dad Jos. If there is one person who can warn Max about the potential pitfalls in F1, it’s Jos”, says Van Amersfoort. "I’ve worked with Kevin Magnussen, albeit only for a short period, and he had the advantage of his dad Jan being able to advise him. It really paid off for Kevin and it will too for Max.”
Frits van Amersfoort is optimistic regarding Max’ first season in F1. “In all honesty, I haven’t been able to catch up with all of the latest developments in F1 and I don’t know exactly how Toro Rosso is doing. Regardless, I expect Max to be able to showcase his talent and beat his team mate Danill Kvyat regularly. I genuinely think Max can be a future Formula 1 world champion but we all know that ambition is difficult to fulfil at Toro Rosso. But then again, Sebastian Vettel won a Grand Prix with the same team in 2008, so who knows what can happen!”
