Tost confident Max silenced critics

Published on 02 April 2015 by Stefan Meens

Scuderia Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost is confident that the “stupid people” who labelled Max Verstappen as too young for Formula 1 are proved wrong after the first two rounds of the 2015 campaign.

Answering Autosport.com’s question what he thought of the pre-season critics, he remarked: "I said this in October and November when all the people criticised: he will answer them on the racetrack because the answer on the racetrack means stupid people can understand."

At the previous Grand Prix in Malaysia, the 17-year-old Dutchman became the youngest ever Formula 1 points scorer after finishing the second race of the year in seventh. Additionaly, Max impressed with P6 in a rainswept qualifying a day earlier.

Likewise, Toro Rosso team mate Carlos Sainz, also an F1 rookie, has had a good start to the season by scoring points in both at Albert Park and Sepang.

James Key, Toro Rosso technical director, praised both drivers: "I think the drivers did brilliantly in really difficult conditions. They're both doing exactly what we want them to and the feedback in the race about the tyres is exactly what you want. So it doesn't feel like they're rookies in many respects.”

Tost echoed Key’s sentiments: "I'm more than happy with both of the drivers. Both of them have done a fantastic job without any mistakes. They are open-minded and they want to learn until late at night. They want to see what is going on, what's being changed on the car and this understanding helps them perform well. They are also very high-skilled drivers."