Max completes his first lap at Suzuka

Published on 01 October 2014 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen arrived at Suzuka several days before his first official Formula 1 race weekend outing to acclimatize and get used to the time difference in Japan. The seventeen-year-old Dutchman will drive FP1 in the STR9, the 2014-spec Scuderia Toro Rosso racer, which will sport race number 38.

On Wednesday, Max spent the day working out and attending team meetings as well as completing his first full lap of the Suzuka track on a track walk. “It's a truly beautiful track. It's looks interesting and it's certainly not the easiest track to begin at. However, I didn’t travel to Suzuka to break lap records but to gain as much experience as I can. So I’m looking forward to Friday.”

Joining Max on his recognizance mission of the track were a team of five. Among them an engineer of engine supplier Renault and Max' new race engineer Xevi Pujolar. Father Jos explains: “The bigger scale of F1 is something Max has to get used to compared to F3. But he is in a good place to learn, to gain experience and to get used to F1. As always, Max keeps a cool head.”

Verstappen senior is happy with the preparation and progress so far: “Scuderia Toro Rosso have got all the confidence in Max, just like myself. It's just incredible to see how well prepared and professional the team operates. It's a great team for Max to be in and for him to be part of Red Bull. Now it's up to him to work hard and show his talent and I’m confident he will. I’m absolutely delighted with our decision to enter F1 with Toro Rosso.”

Another track walk is scheduled on Thursday, before the Grand Prix weekend really gets under way with free practice 1 on Friday. The 90 minute session starts at 02:00 BST.