Max continues pre-season prep with seat fitting and simulator tests

Published on 16 January 2015 by Stefan Meens

With only two months till Max Verstappen lines up on the Melbourne grid for his first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix, the Dutchman is working hard to be fully prepared for his début. After a fairly quiet time over the festive period, the Red Bull Junior is racking up the airmiles once again. This week, he spend two days at Red Bull's HQ in Milton Keynes and a day at Scuderia Toro Rosso's factory at Faenza.

On Monday and Tuesday, Max drove Red Bull Racing's simulator. “In the sim we are now able to drive with the 2015 car. Not all parts are yet on the simulator car, but quite a few. I can really tell the difference, even in the simulator”, explains Max. “I did plenty of laps on the Barcelona circuit and I had a quick go on Abu Dhabi. The goal was to be consistent so we did a lot of long runs”.

Formula 3, in which Max made his single seater début last year, differs from Formula 1. It means the youngster is learning a lot of new features and procedures. One of the new concepts is saving fuel during a race. “In Grands Prix I'll have to lift off the throttle earlier so I spend some time practising in the simulator.”

After the two days in England, Max travelled to Faenza. There, at the Toro Rosso factory, he had another seat fitting. “My seat was already made before the New Year so it didn’t take too long. Today was really about trimming the sharper edges off the seat to really optimize my position and to be as comfortable as possible”, says Max. “Furthermore, the visit give me a chance to catch up with the engineers and other people directly involved.”

In two-and-half weeks time, February 2, Max will have his first on-track taste of the STR10, Toro Rosso's 2015 racer. “Today we had a meeting in which we discussed how to prepare for the first test in Jerez.” Team mate Carlos Sainz will join Max in Jerez. He is scheduled to do the car's shakedown on the first of February.